Damion Mitchell, News Coordinator
Laker Levers (left), a past president of the Rotary Club of Kingston, chats with Ruel Reid, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, during the club's weekly luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston yesterday. Mr. Reid was guest speaker at the luncheon. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) Ruel Reid says the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) is designed to fail students.
According to Mr. Reid, the system should be revised to include, for example, school-based assessments (SBAs) in the two core subjects of mathematics and English.
"We have a system of testing that seeks to fail the majority of our students," Mr. Reid said while speaking during a meeting of the Rotary Club of Kingston at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, yesterday .
The JTA president added that the SBA is designed to facilitate a more comprehensive evaluation of students. He said he had too many experiences where 'not so bright students' leave Jamaica and succeed in the United States.
Mr. Reid also said the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) diploma should be established as a post-secondary qualification representing two years of a four-year college degree programme, similar to the American system.
INCREASE THE SECONDARY SYSTEM
Mr. Reid also said that the Government should consider increasing the secondary system from grade 11 to grade 12 and introduce a semester system for students aged 15 to 17 years who are preparing for university education.
The JTA president wants the education budget to be increased by at least $5 billion in the next fiscal year. His comments came days after the Education Ministry confirmed that that the $5 billion from the National Housing Trust surplus, to fund the transformation of the education sector, is in fact contained in the $37.9 billion budget for the Education Ministry.
Mr. Reid said he wants the education budget to be no less than $43 billion next year and suggested that the national education debate focus more on efficiently funding the education system and not wholly on teacher performance.
According to Mr. Reid, no government has ever funded education to its required level.
"We get out what we put in!" he said. "We cannot sow corn and expect to reap peas."
