Dionne Rose, Parliamentary Reporter
Minister of Education Maxine Henry-Wilson addressing Parliament at Gordon House on Wednesday. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE PERFORMANCE of schools is expected to come under greater scrutiny in the next school year with the establishment of an Education Inspection Agency.
Education Minister, Maxine Henry-Wilson, said on Wednesday during her contribution to the 2006/07 Sectoral Debate in Parliament, that the establishment of the agency was part of the transformation of the education system as proposed by the Rae Davis-led Education Transformation team.
"This agency will help us to achieve performance at the school level," Mrs. Henry-Wilson said. "It will not only offer advice as to how to improve matters but actually inspect the school to ensure that the learning outcomes are being achieved and that the school is using the resources that are available."
She said the education sector currently has a panel inspection arrangement, which is organised in each region, where a small team of education officers and other educators visits the schools and carries out a review for about a two-week period before sending the report to the regional director.
SHORTCOMINGS
She noted that there were shortcomings to this system.
"One of the shortcomings of this is that the recommendation cannot be implemented in a systematic way because of the shortage of resources and the shortage of persons to invigilate the improvements that you want," the Education Minister said.
Mrs. Henry-Wilson said newly-retired school principals and senior schoolteachers would be used as part-time inspectors for the project.
She, however, noted that inspectors would not be assigned to geographical areas where they have had some previous experience and where they are well-known.
"We want them to be as objective as possible in the evaluation of the schools," she said.
The Education Minister said that, once the inspection report is received, schools and regional directors would be required to take action.
The inspection report would also be public so that persons can know what are the strengths and weaknesses of a particular school.
SPACE WOES
Addressing the issue of additional school spaces that will be needed to address overcrowding and the elimination of the shift system, she said 4,465 spaces would be created in Phase One. Of this amount, 12 schools would be expanded by September, providing 2,300 new spaces.
