A LARGE number of adults did not have the benefit of a high school education. Even among those who have passed through the secondary level there are many who did not acquire the CXC or GCE subjects which are the standard measure of a good high school education. They now face problems of employment and of promotion even when technical skills may have been acquired. And, of course, there is the problem of access to further education.
We have in the past floated the idea of a high school equivalency diploma for Jamaican adults similar to the American General Education Diploma (GED). The GED was introduced after the second World War precisely for the purpose of providing ex-servicemen and others with the opportunity to obtain high school qualifications for jobs and for further education. A parallel consideration for us now is the need for a proper standardised national high school diploma in the first place.
The Ministry of Education announced last week that it will be developing and implementing this calendar year a high school equivalency education programme. We welcome the announcement while enquiring "equivalent to what"?
The co-ordinating agency is the cash-rich HEART Trust/NTA whose executive director, Robert Gregory, says the equivalency certification will signify that "a person is educated at secondary level and has all the competencies that a secondary level educated person should have".
Rather than testing and certifying persons on a subject basis, the intent, he says, is to produce a rounded person with competence in five focal areas. The CXC is expected to access and certify to lend legitimacy to the programme.
Present thinking seems bent on institutionalising the programme in delivery centres. We urge the planners to relieve adult learners of any burdensome necessity of attending fixed classes by using alternative delivery modes such as going online, using correspondence material, and allowing independent study.
The paltry sum of $5 million allocated for the development and implementation of this very necessary programme seems woefully inadequate. Surely any investment made could be recovered from fees from adults.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
