Jamaica Gleaner - Cheating for education - Friday

EDUCATION HAS given a black eye to scores of Jamaican organisations and businesses. And it is not because significant numbers of the workforce are going back to school. The fact is while many employees are prepared to play by the rules and get additional certification by applying for study leave or working in their own time, there are scores of employees who have registered as full-time students at universities, colleges and other institutions while they are full-time members of staff.

It is commendable that people want to upgrade their skills and acquire new learning. In these changing times we see employers demanding that household helpers have CXC qualification, possess a driver's licence and in some cases must be able to speak a second language. The reality is that pretty soon every worker will be required to have some form of training or education beyond a high school certificate.

But anyone who is a full-time student and a full-time member of staff is cheating. They are not giving their employees the time to which they have committed in their employment contract and this means other people have to be covering for them or carrying additional workload and it is grossly unfair. And not to mention the use of company material and resources to do their school work - the Internet, telephone, transportation etc.

I have spoken to a few personnel types about this and they admit that it is cause for concern in many offices. But perhaps the hardest hit employer is the Government of Jamaica. Ever wondered why teachers are so highly qualified. Take a survey of the number of teachers with second degrees and you may be amazed at the results. It is not uncommon to hear them brag that they accomplished this while being a full-time member of staff. It's called juggling and Jamaicans are fast becoming the supreme jugglers of all time.

BEST

In the case of teachers, if they are full-time teachers and full-time students, it is not possible for them to give of their best to the students. The truth is that many students are being left to fend for themselves because of absenteeism in the classroom. And we wonder why the CXC results are so dismal.

According to some reports, the greatest blow is being dealt to schools which are in the vicinity of our well known universities and colleges. If this is true, then the administrators in these schools really need to be more vigilant and ensure that teachers are giving a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. Some intrepid journalist needs to do an investigative piece by getting hold of the registers of some of these schools and analyse the data to see what pattern emerges. Also school boards and parent teachers associations need to take a keener interest into what is happening in their schools.

WORK AND SCHOOL

This act of juggling work and school is not limited to teachers. Throughout the civil service it is said to be happening with regularity and to a lesser extent in the private sector. Truth is, it is happening all over the world as people try to slake their thirst for knowledge and satisfy the desire to advance. This is happening even as company's mark off huge chunks of their budgets for in-house training.

Forward-thinking companies recognise that for them to foster continuing education of their employees is to make a huge investment in their future stability which will pay handsome dividends in enhanced performance and productivity. And so, many companies are now revising their policies to ensure that the education dollar is well spent. It doesn't make sense for a newspaper to pick up the tab for an employee who wants to study, say, meteorology. So companies are hiring continuing education experts who will advise what kinds of courses employees should be doing, pointing to the learning styles which will be most beneficial to the company and the worker and devising programmes that are linked to their business objectives and organisational strategy.

This explains why major corporations are establishing their own training facilities. Ford Corporation started a university called Fordstar, Boeing Corporation provides education for its employees at the Leadership Centre, and Motorola has established Motorola University with virtual laboratories to train line workers. Meanwhile the career of every new employee of Disneyland in California begins at the University of Disneyland with a 40-hour apprenticeship programme. And there are many more examples.

So the point of this article is not to frown on attempts to acquire learning. However I believe this should be done in a structured manner with the company being assured that this expenditure means the worker will be better equipped to do his or her job and perhaps that such an employee will remain on the job for some time.

Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who may be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com.

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