Nation divided on commitment to education
THE PUBLIC has conflicting views regarding the level of the Government's commitment to education.
According to a survey conducted on behalf of The Gleaner by Don Anderson and his team from Market Research Services Ltd. (MRSL), the country is almost equally divided over whether the Government is doing enough for education.
The survey was done from February 28 to March 20 and involved interviews among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 persons islandwide. The sample error is plus or minus 3.1 per cent.
Forty-three per cent of respondents expressed the view that the Government is committed to education. This was, however, countered by the more than 40 per cent who do not feel the level of commitment is there.
Persons who principally felt that Government was being positive about education were mainly older persons in the 55-and-over age group and those who fall within the upper income level of the population.
From a parish perspective, persons in St. James were solidly supportive of the notion that Government was indeed committed to education. Over 75 per cent of those persons shared the view.
Persons, particularly males, who fall between the age group 25 to 44 years and in the middle-income category were the ones who principally felt that the Government has not shown a good level of commitment to education. However, 17 per cent are simply not sure about Government's level of commitment to education.
LOW PASS RATES
The education sector has been buffeted by charges of mismanagement in recent years because of declining pass rates in key subject areas such as English, geography and the sciences.
Still, the Ministry of Education continues to devise creative ways to deal with the teacher-motivational issues. Last week, the ministry launched its much-anticipated 'pilot programme' in several schools which could determine whether teachers' pay should ultimately be tied to performance in the classrooms. The programme involved a special sample of schools in Regions One and Five "ranging in type, size and location." On the negative side, 31.8 per cent of those who do not feel that Government is committed, pointed to what they consider high school fees, while 35 per cent, made reference to the paucity of the budget allocated to education.
In Parliament in October, the Government and Opposition struck an historic agreement which saw the Patterson administration committing to increasing its budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Education from 10 to 15 per cent over the next five years. The increase was expected to occur in increments of one per cent each year, which means that this year's increase should have been at least 11 per cent, as against the current 9.2 per cent.
The Government has allocated $30.2 billion to education this fiscal year, a $677 million increase over last year, but the figure represents less than 10 per cent of the national budget. The opposition Jamaica Labour Party is miffed by this decision.
