By George Plummer, Contributor
George Plummer
THE GENERALLY poor ranking of high schools in the recent survey by the A-Quest education group based on the results in the CXC examinations results (2003) has seemly spurred the development of several new secondary programmes by the Ministry of Education Youth and Culture. Some of these new programmes, the clustering of schools for better management, the provisions to enhance secondary teacher's qualifications and national audio visual presentations of our better teachers, may only be a fraction of the solution.
The real problem seems to be with the student his attitude towards school and his own personal goals, regardless of the exposure to good teaching. Some experts argue that teaching accounts for only approximately 25-30 per cent of the work required for the average student to succeed in examinations; the student must account for the difference.
Ninety per cent of the more than 1,200 students who registered with our colleges in the past two years were CXC repeaters. The majority had a fair understanding of the subjects repeated not requiring any remedial work. However, the main weaknesses identified were the lack of a clear objective and very poor work ethics most did very little or no home work. Hence we are considering extended class time for 2004-2005. inner city culture, the lack of after school supervision, and the lack of positive role models in the community seem to be factoring in the students' behaviour.
INNER-CITY BACKGROUND
The majority of the students in high schools in the Corporate Area are from an inner-city background. Many have been well-prepared at the primary level. The primary schools in Central Kingston, for example, reportedly received some of the best passes in the Common Entrance/GSAT examinations, more than any other inner-city community. Yet we have not seen that kind of manifestation at the secondary level. Many of these students may have succeeded at the primary level simply by depending only on what was taught in the classroom. However, for the average student, the secondary level demands much more.
Consequently, any programme designed to improve performances in examinations at the secondary level, must include the student and those directly responsible or those that can influence him such as parents/guardians, teachers and guidance counsellors.
Consideration should also be accorded to inner city community leaders who are cognizant of problems faced by students in the community and are also aware of inner-city culture. These persons could provide information crucial to the successful implementation and administration of any new secondary school programme.
The heavy back-leg approach must be extirpated and with some urgency a radical infusion of experts (psychologists/social workers etc.) should be channelled into the secondary schools system to assess the problem and make recommendations. There are problems faced by teachers and many varied situations affecting students addressed by guidance counsellors that have not been examined, which could provide some answers. Therefore the input of teachers and guidance counsellors is as important as that of the student, they are a most valuable resource.
Finally, every Jamaican must be convinced that this problem is not relative only to the Government. The solution will come from a concerted effort from all of us spearheaded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture. After all we are all affected in one-way or the other.
George Plummer is director of the College of Academic and Technical Studies, central Kingston.
