Peter Espeut BASED ON past behaviour I have been waiting for the latest knee-jerk response to Dr. Ralph Thompson's expose of the rot within the secondary tier of our education system.
Over the last few years when persons (including myself) put forward evidence that Jamaica's education system is substandard, producing generally low levels of literacy and low levels of educational achievement, the government and their cohort, rather than admit the problem and suggest solutions, quickly rejoin that things are not so bad after all. For some reason they have not been able to do so this time.
Dr. Thompson's analysis of the CXC examination results shows clearly that more than half of the students in the secondary system do NOT get an opportunity to fail CXC English or mathematics because they are not allowed to take the examination by their teachers (presumably because the teachers believe their students don't stand a chance). And then of those who are allowed to sit the exams, only a small minority pass. Both of these findings are a serious indictment on the quality of our education system.
PUBLIC INDIGNATION
There is public indignation over the few billions which will be wasted paying Mr. Millwood's transport co-operative; what say you about the thousands of billions which these findings show have been wasted over the years in fruitless educational efforts? I have argued in many previous columns that much of the blame is to be placed at the feet of the JLP and PNP policymakers who have created by positive decision the system we presently have. True, we inherited the framework of the present system from our colonial past, but after all, we have had more than enough time 40 years since independence to craft a system to our own liking.
Taking the first 25 years of Independence (so both parties are included) the various governments decided to build only two traditional high schools (to enter children have to pass the Common Entrance Examination) while building 70 junior secondary and new secondary schools (to enter these schools, students have to fail the CEE). This is a scandal of the highest proportions, for it has meant that the progress of thousands of Jamaicans has been intentionally stunted by successive JLP and PNP governments.
CHEAP LABOUR
Why? To protect the agricultural labour force, and to offer foreign investors cheap labour. It is this series of decisions more than any other that has created the sub-standard secondary system we now have. I am at a loss as to why no journalist or talk show host has rushed to past members of the Cabinets of both PNP and JLP governments, e.g. Seaga and Coore, to ask them why they agreed to this backward move? I find that most of our journalists do not deserve the title "independent" because they indulge more in public relations for the party they support.
The reflex response of the government last year to the charges that they created a substandard education system was to point out that three of our Jamaican A Level students placed third in the world in their various subjects, suggesting that we are not so bad after all. I exposed this deception last year by comparing our results with Trinidad. In a country half our size, 17 students have come either first, second or third in the world in the Cambridge GCE A Level Examinations; six Trinidadians came first in the world (in Sociology, Biology, Physics, Literature, Economics and Geography), five came second in the world (Sociology, Biology, Further Mathematics, Geography and Spanish), and six came third in the world (Sociology, Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Business Studies and Literature). And we boasted about three students coming third in the world!
In terms of population, if Trinidad had 17 in the top three, and our education system was on par with Trinidad, we should have 36 in the top three! But we had only three, suggesting that Trinidad's education system is 11 times better than ours using this criterion alone. I am waiting for the latest defence of the indefensible! To be fair to all concerned, there are others who must share the blame with the government for our dismal education system.
Our private sector basically our middle and upper classes demand cheap (unskilled) labour in their farms, factories and homes, and widespread good (secondary) education would drive up the price of labourers, workers and domestic help; at the same time, world-class grammar schools were created for their children. We have a substandard education system because Jamaica is at root a racist and classist society. The churches especially my own cannot escape guilt for owning and operating schools offering different education to the poor and the wealthy. I am proud that I am a graduate of the top performing high school in Jamaica and was Headmaster's Medallist of the Class of 1968 but I am not proud of the substandard education offered at other Catholic high schools I won't name to avoid them embarrassment.
Sad to say, our churches have bought into the racist and classist structure of Jamaican society. We have not yet examined our collective consciences.
ILLITERACY AND UNDER-PERFORMANCE
As a group, teachers have to accept a big share of the blame for the illiteracy and under-performance of the vast majority of our children. No matter what the Ministry of Education does, or how bad the school board is, in the end with students in front of them, teachers can choose to perform and make a difference. By and large, they have not! By all assessments, teachers are a major part of the problem, and are resisting a performance-related pay system which might force a change. Those who have caused the problem need to first beat their breasts, and then buckle down and DO SOMETHING!
Peter Espeut is a sociologist and is executive director of an Environment and Development NGO.
