Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer

Ocho Rios, St. Ann:

The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) is calling on the Government to reverse its decision to cut the allocation for textbooks for schools across the island, especially to those offering technical and vocational subjects.

The call was made in light of what the JTA's Secretary General, Dr. Adolph Cameron, said was a recent announcement by the Ministry of Education's Chief Education Officer that there will be a 25 per cent reduction in government's allocation for textbooks this year.

Describing the decision as a very backward step in the development of education in Jamaica, Dr Cameron warned that it will only serve to create problems for students and their teachers.

He said parents who are already under pressure will have to find the additional funds to purchase the textbooks or let their children attend school without them.

Compromise quality

Dr. Cameron further cautioned that such a situation would only serve to greatly compromise the delivery of high-quality education in schools because teachers would then be forced to face the difficulty of delivering curricula without the necessary resources.

"I think it is very unfortunate that we have had this cutback and I hope that the Ministry of Education will be able to look back on its budget and reconsider that decision."

He also said that it has been proven that many students who have failed to master academic subjects usually go on to do well in technical and vocational training and urged the ministry to ensure that these students were properly facilitated.

Dr. Cameron added that libraries in various schools would not be able to fill the gap caused by the cutback in textbooks because they already possessed very limited stocks.

The JTA secretary seneral said he is hoping that the government would deal with this issue as a matter of priority.