THE EDITOR, Sir:AS A young Jamaican, I am compelled to become more vocal because of the poor state of our education system and the ramifications both for my peers and the nation as a whole. Though limited by distance, perhaps in the model of a public servant now at rest in National Heroes Park, I might make some contribution through my letters.
In preparation for my lecture at King's House on February 2, I closely read the report of the task force on education. The report appropriately highlighted the poor performance of males in the Jamaican education system up to the secondary level. Though males may do better at the tertiary level, it was evident from my visit to the UWI campus that the concern at that level is not performance, but the paucity of male students.
To state the obvious: male academic performance in Jamaica is a serious problem. The growing imbalance in education levels between males and females in our society is potentially destabilising because as it becomes more difficult for women to find mates with matching education and earning potential, it will further erode the family structure. The large numbers of young men with poor education and limited economic prospects is also a serious security risk.
A GREAT CONCERN
Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International, points out the potential for young men to engage in criminality when he notes that, "Almost all crime in every society is committed by men between the ages of 15 and 25 ... That is why the socialisation of young men in schools, colleges and camps has been one of the chief challenges for civilised societies." The socialisation of Jamaican young men is of great concern.
The task force on education reports that 77 per cent of school teachers are female. Simply put, boys in Jamaican schools may have little to no interaction with male role models of intellectual achievement during their school day. All teachers are to be commended for their service but it is troubling that a young boy seeking a role model for intellectual achievement will be hard-pressed to find a male in school who can fill that role. As reportedly 45 per cent of Jamaican homes are headed by single mothers, a great number of our young men lack male role models at home as well. Lacking much experience with educated, intellectual, men it should not surprise us that we find young men modelling their behaviour and lifestyle based on the male role models they do have. All too often these role models are men who make their living without recourse to education.
So what is to be done? The Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture must do its best to support and retain the male teachers we do have and offer incentives for men to enter teaching, even if they are in other fields. However, all responsibility cannot be left to the government.
I issue a challenge to Jamaican men of goodwill who understand the importance of education to offer an hour each week for mentoring young men to your local school. I issue a challenge to schools and school boards to seek out and creatively utilise educated men in the community to meet the need for male role models in the schools. I issue a challenge to Government and Opposition to lend moral and material support to such endeavours. For the security of our nation, for the strength of our families, Jamaican society must commit to intervene in the socialisation of our young men.
I am, etc.,
NYRON S. BURKE
(A 22-year-old Jamaican-born student at Princeton University who recently delivered a lecture at King's House on the importance of education.)
