The controversial Computer Science pre-test that quizzed 11-year-old students on their sexuality and gender identity, among other things unknown to their parents, did not pass through the Ethics Review Committee at the University of the West Indies.This was confirmed by chairman of the committee, Dr Michael Campbell, who told Barbados TODAY he was surprised that the test found its way into secondary schools across the island without the committee’s approval.Both the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training have since apologised for the test being administered to 733 first formers at five secondary schools.Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw said the Ministry of Education had asked for the intrusive and inappropriate questions to be removed from the test.In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Dr Campbell, who is also the Deputy Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at the Cave Hill Campus, revealed that the committee had reviewed 150 projects in the last academic year from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022.
