education

[Amelia]

I may be moving to the Bahamas, I have two children a boy 7, a girl who is 5. I am having troubles finding information regarding schooling. Could someone guide me in the right direction?

Amelia

[ejluv]

http://webserv.bahamaseducation.com I am not sure if that will be of any assistance to you or not but it is there for information purposes. What island will you be moving to? I have a friend that is a retired school teacher on Eleuthra that may be able to shed some light for you. Are you wanting to put them into private schools or the governent schools? There are alot of religious schools on the islands too. I lived there as a child and attended school on one of the family islands but times has changed and technology has advanced. Computers though, are not used as extensively there as they are here in the US school systems. The government fully operates 158 of the 210 primary and secondary schools in The Bahamas. The other 52 schools are privately operated. Enrollment for state and private primary and secondary schools amounts to more than 66,000 students. Here is one website for that goes to 2nd grade that is located in Nassau. http://www.academybahamas.com/index.html. Attendence in gov. schools is free and private schools can range from $400-$2,500 per term depending.

[derek]

ejluv,
Are government schools FREE to foreigners working in the bahamas??
I was under the impression that was not so.

Also, how about health care? Is that part of the "package" when you get a work permit? Who pays for it?

http://travel.state.gov/bahamas.html consular website
http://travel.state.gov/medical.html consular website pertaining to medical
http://www.nib-bahamas.com National Insurance Board of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
http://www.nib-bahamas.com/FAQs/nib_...#Contributions and http://www.nib-bahamas.com/FAQs/nib_...icknessBenefit
Derek,
I will research on the education part. I know that when I attended the government school in Andros that my parents did not pay but times have changed. As far as the work permit, there is alot of red tape and long waiting period for a foreigner to go through to get it. Is this work permit sponsored by your employer? If so, you might also check with them on health care coverage for you and your family while there. Making sure that it will cover you while you are working in the Bahamas but as you will see again there are many circumstances pertaining to any insurance coverage while outside the US. Another thing that you will see is that you will have to pay into the National Insurance Board a portion of your wages no matter what. Use the links I have included, that may help you to understand how it works.

[Derek]

Thanks..
I'm still negotiating with a propestive employer, but he doesn't seem to know much. (a little scary). It looks like we won't have National Insurance for nearly a year, even though I will have to pay into it. Paying two insurances (National and Cobra ) and the overall pay scale and cost of living makes this a really tight deal. Oh well, I'll keep researching. Thanks again

[Tini]

I have the same plan. IWhat kind of schooling are you looking for. Yourself or the kids? :roll:

[JBParker]

When my husband was working in Exuma, he and I would visit the local clinic if we were ill. The cost was paid out of our pockets, but is no where near as high as health care costs in the US. Also, keep your receipts and information, and there may be a chance that your health insurance in the states will reimburse you for all or part of your expense. As far as National Insurance, be sure and ask your employer about your '2%'. If he doesn't know what you're talking about, he doesn't have all the information on how it works down there.

[Pamela]

We currently reside in Canada and are contemplating a move to GBI. We have two school age children ( 6 and 10) who are presently being homeschooled. Will be able to homeschool there or will they have to go to an actual school? I know that education is mandatory for 5 - 14 year olds.....just not if they can be schooled at home. Thanks for any help or info you can give.

[birdy41]

Hi,

I homeschooled my children here for four years. Although they are presently going to the Lucaya International School (Check Google) they had a wonderful experience homeschooling in this environment. Although there are no laws in the Bahamas as yet in regard to homeschooling, the law states that all children must be schools. What I did was ensure I had good documentation of curriculum and also tested my children once a year with online testing services...that gave me and "if anyone asked" a feeler as to how my kids were doing. And of course they did very well!

The beauty of homeschooling here is that within a small community my kids were able to meet lots of other kids at local events and functions.