Petrina Francis, Education ReporterTHERE ARE mixed feelings among parents on one of the recommendations put forward by the task force on education, namely that the distance from home to school be taken into consideration when allocating Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) places.
According to the report which was tabled in Parliament recently, 'physical access to secondary schools is sometimes impeded because the location of schools is not proportionate to the population distribution, resulting in long travel times, exposure to danger and exorbitant transportation costs'.
The report further stated that a number of GSAT students are placed in schools very far from home.
AVERAGE
"I don't think children should be denied the opportunity to go to school where they prefer once they meet the average for a particular school," said Edward Forbes, president of the Merl Grove High School parent-teacher association.
Meanwhile, Joan Brown, mother of two, told The Gleaner that sending children to schools based on proximity to home is a good recommendation because it would help many parents to save on bus fare.
However, Ms. Brown said that many parents work outside of their communities and would prefer if their children were placed at schools near to their workplaces so that children may commute with them.
"It should be the parents' choice where they want to send their children," said Kerene Henry-Amos, a 38-year-old mother.
TRADITIONAL SCHOOL
Mrs. Henry-Amos, whose daughter attends a high school in Kingston, said she did not want her daughter to go to a school in Linstead, St. Catherine, where she resides.
She explained that she wanted her to go to a traditional school in Kingston and would have been very upset if she was not given her choice.
But Lauriston Lindsay, principal of Happy Grove High School in Portland, said placing students in schools based on where they live "is something that should be pursued".
However, he warned that it is going to be difficult and would have to be done over time. He also noted that there are some areas which have clusters of schools, which could be problematic.
In February, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson appointed the task force which was chaired by Dr. Rae Davis, president of the University of Technology. Its mandate was to deliver an action plan for a 'world class education system'.
