Campbell

When school opens in September and Margaret Campbell has to deal with the students at all-boy St. George's College in Kingston, she can do so with the assurance that the vast majority of Jamaicans do not believe that her sex is an impediment to the job.

That at least, seems to be the messages in an opinion poll in which Jamaicans argue that such an appointment should be based on qualifications rather than gender.

Campbell, who previously taught math at the University of the West Indies, Mona, was formally named principal of the state-supported Roman Catholic high school at the start of this month. But when her impending appointment was leaked in June, it ignited complaints from some faculty members and parents who argued it was a man's job, because boys needed a male mentor.

The poll speaks

There were also claims that the selection process did not sufficiently accommodate competent males who were interested in the post.

But according to findings of the survey, conducted for The Gleaner by pollster Bill Johnson, 70 per cent of Jamaicans have no problem with a woman running an all-boy school, more than two-and-half times the 26 per cent who felt that a man should run an all-male high school.

The poll, done in mid-July, when the St. George's issue was still raging, has a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent. Males accounted for 52 per cent of the sample of 1,008.

When it came to whether a qualified man should head a girls school, marginally fewer Jamaicans, 66 per cent, felt that this should be the case. The four percentage points gap between people saying that qualified women should be able to head an all-boy school and vice versa was just outside the poll's margin of error, making the difference statistically insignificant.

Similarly, the 28 per cent who insisted that the head of a girls school should be a woman was statistically insignificant from the 26 per cent who said a male should be in charge of a school for boys.

What the public said

Should a qualified female be principal of an all-boys school?

Qualified woman	70%
Has to be a man	26%
Don't know	4%
Should a qualified male run an all-girls school?
Qualified man	66%
Has to be a woman	28%
Don't know	6%