The Editor, Sir:

I am an employee of an insurance company located in New Kingston. We have taken on some Heart trainees, and a conversation with one of them left me in a state of shock and disbelief.

This young lady told me that she attended a high school located above Stony Hill for two years, after being transferred from her previous school. I asked her how many subjects she passed, to which she replied that she did not do any. "What you mean you don't do any" I asked, to which she replied that "Half the school don't do any."

She went on to explain that she was going to try and get some subjects as she is having great difficulty finding employment. "They always say they will call you, but they never call," she lamented.

She asked me how many subjects I had and I told her "eight", plus a university degree. She then asked me if I did all eight at once and I told her "yes". At this point she exclaimed "Wow!". This young lady was as surprised to know that eight subjects could be passed in one sitting, as I was surprised that in Jamaica there are schools, in which half of the students don't sit any subjects.

I had always heard that there were problems in our education system, but I have just been given a glimpse into the extent of the problem. I went back to my desk wondering if anything can be done to change this, or should we all just turn a blind eye, because "A so the system stay, and it a go on so from long time".

I know that there was some discussion about performance pay for teachers, which might go some way in solving this problem. The young lady had told me that very little of the syllabus was completed, so that was one of the reasons that so many students were not registered for exams.

I certainly hope that the ministry is aware of these situations and there is a plan to address them. I now realise that all this time I have been wearing "blinkers" and there is a whole lot happening in Jamaica that I am not aware of.

I am, etc.,

PATRICK DORMAN

ptrick3148@yahoo.com

P.O. Box 35

Old Harbour

St. Catherine

Via Go-Jamaica