Lorraine Judith Spencer-JarrettVIOLENCE AND indiscipline in schools, performance at primary school level and late distribution of primary school text books, are some of the issues expected to be discussed when the 36th annual conference of the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) kicks off today.
The three-day conference will be held at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande resort in Ocho Rios.
Dr. Adolf Cameron, secretary for administration at the JTA, told The Gleaner that the nagging problem of violence and indiscipline, which has been the number one concern of educators, will receive serious attention.
Coming out of a meeting with principals last month, Education Minister, Senator Burchell Whiteman, announced that the Government would be establishing a rehabilitation and counselling centre for problem students at the end of September in an attempt to curb the problem of violence and indiscipline in the nation's high schools.
Dr. Cameron said teachers were also concerned about the reading skills of students in the primary school system and that the issue was likely to stir much discussion.
"The underperformace of children in primary schools in respect of literacy is something, as an association, we must deal with," he said.
Concerns have been raised about the poor performance of students in the Grade Four National Literacy Test. There was a marginal decline in this year's results compared to 1999. Roughly 47 per cent of students who sat the 2000 test in June, were judged to have attained mastery of literacy, down from 50 per cent a year ago.
The figures mean that only about a half of the 45,000 nine- and 10-year-olds in the primary system have reached the required level of literacy by Grade Four.
Against this background Dr. Cameron was adamant that the Ministry had to adopt measures to deal with the recurring problem of late distribution of text books in primary schools. He noted that teachers felt very strongly about the issue.
"The Ministry must do its part. If the books are coming in the schools in March, it does not help anybody," he said. "Once you lose the first term and half of the second term, you have lost the entire year," Dr. Cameron continued.
Meanwhile Lorraine Judith Spencer-Jarrett is to be installed as the 34th president of the JTA today.
Last year the JTA complained bitterly about the protracted delays in distribution of the books to primary schools. The Ministry, however, said the problem arose because of a shortage in the supply of paper to the Jamaica Observer - the company which had the contract to print the books.
Meanwhile, the issue of contract employment of principals and vice-principals, which is proposed in the Green Paper on Education, will also be discussed at the conference, Dr. Cameron said.
- Contributed
