A 26 per cent increase in the education budget for 2001/2002 will hopefully raise the standards in public education and pay handsome dividends in the future. But pouring more money into the system will only have the desired effect if the funds are targeted where they can do the most good.
Should the bulk of the resources be spent on modernising the physical plant to ensure a safe and well-equipped learning environment? Should the priority be on expanding second-chance opportunities especially in the socially and economically disadvantaged inner city? Should there be a concerted effort to recruit the brightest teachers and pay them well? Will the spending be concentrated on expanding computer technology and high-speed Internet connections in schools?
These are some of the issues that ought to be considered if there is to be excellence in our schools. We are not short of reform in education. Successive administrations have come up with their own blueprint and right now there is a Green Paper on education on the table. For all of that, an unacceptable per cent of school leavers are illiterate. We believe accountability should be at the core of education reform. Why are so many children not learning? Why is there such a dramatic gap in performance in the nation's schools?
In the same way that the private sector must account to its shareholders for performance each year, the taxpayers have a right to demand results for their investment in education.
Schools should be assessed, rated and the results published annually. Those that perform well should be rewarded and those that turn in poor results should be sanctioned and given a period in which to reverse the situation.
Every Jamaican child should be given a fair chance to climb the stairway out of poverty. And the nation should demand reforms that put this goal within the grasp of each child.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
