National

Edu. Minister Hits Back at Shadow Min. For “Playing Politics With Education”

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – C.C. Sweeting Senior High School remains closed over ongoing power issues, as Education Minister Chester Cooper says officials are working to address the problems while defending the government’s response to recurring challenges across schools.

Published

1 hour ago

October 7, 2026

Joshua Williams

NASSAU , BAHAMAS – C.C. Sweeting Senior High School is closed yet again Wednesday morning as the school continues to grapple with power issues.

Faulty electrical wiring feeding into the campus left three students with minor burns on Monday.

Outside of Parliament Wednesday morning, Education Minister Chester Cooper says those students are doing well, but revealed other schools in the area had power issues as well.

Chester Cooper – Minister, Education
“Centre for the Deaf, we’ve also had some issues in the neighbourhood that affected Eva Hilton, which is another school in the immediate vicinity. Eva Hilton is open, Centre for the Deaf is open. C.C. Sweeting is still closed.”

Cooper says he hopes officials will be able to open the school tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Education Shadow Minister Shanendon Cartwright has been vocal in his criticism, saying school power failures require leadership, not resilience. Reporters put that challenge to Cooper.

Chester Cooper – Minister, Education
“Shanendon Cartwright, I’m sorry, who? Your response to… Shanendon Cartwright… you mean Senator Cartwright? Shadow Minister for Education? Oh, him.”

Chester Cooper – Minister, Education
“We understand that there are issues with energy, and the solution for us in education is not to put out school every time the light goes off, and I think that is abundantly clear. I hope that he misunderstood what I said, and he is not attempting to play politics with education.”

At a press conference earlier Wednesday morning, Bahamas Educators Managerial Union President Stephen McPhee told reporters C.C. Sweeting High has had power distribution issues for years.

But it turns out challenges are not limited to power woes. Cooper admits there are other issues they’re facing daily.

Chester Cooper – Minister, Education
“We acknowledge that on any given day at 162 schools across 24 islands, something will happen. We make efforts for preventative maintenance. We make efforts to ensure that we respond quickly, and we have a crisis team. We hope that there is not a crisis, but when there is one, we respond appropriately.”