THE LOOMING impasse between the Minister of Education and the teachers through their association is a tragedy in the making. Surely, if both sides understand clearly their paramount mission they would quickly find a solution to their differences.
Any proposal which contemplates a significant reduction in the teaching establishment should have been the subject of discussion between the administration and the teachers' union. But from the reaction of the JTA president-elect Mr. Paul Adams and his members attending the conference in Ocho Rios this apparently has not been the case.
This initial outburst should not be allowed to persist even though we regard the threat by Mr. Adams as ominous and discouraging. The whole matter ought not to be pursued with self-righteous zeal from either side but as an opportunity for constructive engagement. To do otherwise is not to serve the greater purpose.
We are disappointed that Mr. Whiteman who had established somewhat of a reputation for reasonableness did not apparently handle the proposal with greater tact. Equally we are disturbed that the teachers' association seemed to have in latter days taken on the appearance of being merely a trade union, involved in endless disputes over salary and other benefits.
At another level the preoccupation with numbers hardly addresses the problems in education. In the end it matters little whether we have 300 more teachers or 300 fewer. What matters is how effectively they teach. All things being equal there should have been over achievement among students in the schools that are allegedly overstaffed and the reverse in those that are understaffed; but we doubt whether such a correlation exists. Hence the mere shifting of numbers hardly answers the problem.
The persistent bickering at this level of the education sector tends to ignore what ought to be the primary objective: the education of our children who are the future of the nation. In addressing the urgent issues of adequate salaries, the state of discipline in the classroom, and other matters, that primary objective should remain paramount.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
