THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WRITE in response to certain views expressed by Mr. Brandford Gayle, principal of Munro College, in an article written by Earl Moxam on Monday, December 5. In the article, Mr. Gayle dismissed concerns about the proposed CXC associate degree as "typical imperialism", noting that his concern was instead "how organisations like A-Quest piggy-back on our high schools, take our best students and send them abroad."
The issue at hand is not whether we are allowing American educators to determine our agenda, but that having this degree would give Jamaican applicants who have not yet attended university, the status of a transfer student, thus making them ineligible for financial aid given to first-year students entering these institutions. Though this might not be an issue for a student matriculating to the University of the West Indies (UWI), it is a concern for students opting to pursue financially (non-loan) aided studies elsewhere in the world.
MERE TASTE
Having been through the CAPE programme, I am personally worried that the level of CAPE is a mere taste of the rigours of university academics and that giving students an associate degree upon completion of CAPE studies might give them the wrong impression as to the level of their academic achievement. Whether or not this degree is embraced by our secondary institutions, it should remain optional for students instead of being an automatic conferral.
I must also address Mr. Gayle's concerns about organisations "like A-Quest". Organisations like A-Quest would not exist were there not a demand for their services. The bigger question is, why are Jamaican students attracted by educational opportunities abroad? The question does not stop there, as we need to ask ourselves and our trusted leaders why Jamaica ranks among the top 10 immigrant groups in the United States, alongside countries like India and Vietnam, that far outnumber our populace. For those students who can't pay UWI $1 million per annum to study medicine, if they fail to get one of the few Government-aided spots, having an associate degree could be a real problem for those who don't qualify for student loans or those who simply want to broaden their horizons through a foreign education.
IGNORANT DISMISSAL
I viewed Mr. Gayle's comments as a personal attack on Dr. Minott and an ignorant dismissal of the wider issue of why the Jamaican society is scaring away its brightest minds. As a Jamaican studying abroad, who has every intention to return home, I know why many students don't have similar plans. They are no less patriotic than myself or Mr. Gayle, but simply put, in our soon-to-be national language, "Cho man! nutten nah gwaan a Jamaica". I hope all stakeholders will seriously consider making acceptance of this degree optional. Also, we need to realise that lowering standards and teaching our children in patois and giving them associate degrees upon completion of high school are steps backwards and no way to address our education crisis.
I am, etc.,
SHAWNA-KAYE LESTER
Yl_lynxrufus@yahoo.com
