REACTIONS TO plummeting grades as well as the continuing violence in and outside the schools appear to justify the conclusion that education indeed is in crisis.
The academic results show more than half of high and secondary level schools in the island rated below expectations. This is indicated in the National Council on Education's review of the 2003 CXC examination performance. The rating well below C level means that some schools have plummeted from A grades achieved in previous years.
According to Dr. Dennis Minott, a member of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Education, the principal problem is leadership of the schools since in many instances lack of resources is not a problem.
On their part, principals have taken the position that they cannot be blamed solely for the poor performance of some schools without taking account of the conditions under which they have to work. The Council is to conduct research to determine all the factors involved in the general decline at the secondary level. The effectiveness of principals as administrators, the competence of teachers, the attitude of parents, and the learning environment will all
be assessed.
While Eduction Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson is yet to fully digest the Council's report she has indicated that the Ministry is to explore new ways of combating the violence now affecting the nation's schools.
That of course is a recurrent problem. It is barely a fortnight since several schools in South St. Andrew were forced to close because of factional violence. Yet once again, yesterday, the malady reared its ugly head as infants at a basic school in Riverton had to abandon classes because of gun violence. It goes to show that the crisis in education is indeed multi-faceted.
It is reasonable to look at school performance as a measure of the state of education. In that process the quality of both teachers and students must be assessed in finding ways to fix problems. But the dilemma is not simply that a choice has to be made between fixing education or crime.
Crime affects everything negatively. Education is the key to the future which ultimately belongs to the youth as heirs of the present. We all - teachers, students, citizens, political and business leaders - have a stake in a crisis that must be tackled without undue delay.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
