THE Gleaner of Thursday January 31, 2002 had some interesting statistics on educational enrolment in Jamaica over the years 1995-1999. It listed the distribution of student enrolment throughout the Jamaican educational system, starting from early childhood level to the primary level and up to the secondary level, before ending with the tertiary level. It was also divided into male and female enrolment at each level.
What was interesting about this data was that, barring statistical omission (i.e. failure to capture a complete picture of all that happens), it does show fairly accurately that there is very little structured early childhood education in Jamaica, even though this number had risen by the end of the period, from 16,440 in 1995 to 17,049 in 1999.
As experts believe that the early years of education are some of the most fundamental to developing how an individual learns, it may explain why there are some major educational weaknesses as children progress into the primary school system.
If many do not go to a proper infant school or do not get adequate home schooling when young, as the data shows, they will have difficulty grasping proper academic skills that will serve them well in later years. It can also create frustration among such young children when they cannot keep up with their brighter peers who have learnt these skills at an earlier age. We may need to re-think how we view the many basic schools out there that are functioning as day-care centres and religious centres for the off-spring of devotees, unless there are more trained teachers in these schools.
Another interesting statistic that emerged from the data was that at an early childhood level, and at the primary level, the number of enrolled boys out-number that of girls. The gender disparity begins shifting towards the female side when we go up to the secondary level and becomes even more skewed when we enter the tertiary level. We know that girls mature faster than boys physically and intellectually (or should that be emotionally), but it does mean that we need to spend more time trying to improve male performance in the teenage years.
Last but not least, the data show that if we compare the number of primary students to the number of tertiary enrolment between 1995 and 1999, there is an increase in tertiary enrolment. The rate, even if slight, suggest that more persons are seeing the value of tertiary
education.
