Out of touch! Senior principals believe education policymakers are not fully informed about the realities on the ground
Published:Sunday | August 8, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
POLICYMAKERS in the education ministry have been scolded by the hierarchy of Jamaica's two major principals' associations for failing to consult with educators on too many issues.
Albert Corcho, principal of Tarrant High School and president of the Association of Principals and Vice-Principals, believes the approach of the ministry demonstrates that the State does not take education seriously.
"I don't think that the Government truly understands the importance of education," said Corcho at a principals' forum held at The Gleaner's North Street offices recently.
But special adviser to the education minister, Ruel Reid, told The Sunday Gleaner that he categorically resented the claim that consultations were lacking. Reid, who is also principal of Jamaica College, said he understands some of the concerns being voiced, but his colleagues, at times, forgot who was the boss. "Sometimes principals forget that they are employees of the education ministry. It is as if we don't want to submit ourselves to the policy directives of the ministry," he said.
"The ministry is supposedly the body that sets policy. Too often we feel as principals that there is a need for elaborate consultation ... . Every principal and every classroom teacher wants to be consulted, and that's not practical," added Reid.
He pointed out that the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), an umbrella organisation that he said represents principals and all category of teachers, meets with the education ministry on a monthly basis. Reid, a past president of the JTA, believes the association should do a better job of spreading the word on policy issues discussed with the ministry.
No consultation
However, the principals pointed to the recent push to hire deans of discipline for scores of high schools as proof that the education ministry is acting without consulting those in charge of the day-to- day running of the schools.
The educators claimed that the ministry took the decision to hire the deans without asking for the input of the schools, some of which already had a member of staff operating in that capacity.
The special adviser denied the claim. He told our news team that efforts were made to have dialogue with the school heads but some of them, whose schools were selected to be a part of the deans of discipline pilot project, did not attend a meeting that was scheduled to discuss the matter.
Corcho argued that if the ministry had approached the schools with the plan to hire deans of discipline, a recommendation could have been made to hire another teacher to fill the slot of the educator who was already functioning in that capacity.
"Such a plan would have reaped greater success," argued Corcho. "because the teacher knows students and understands the ethos of the school."
Corcho claimed that it is theministry's failure to have dialogue with the principals that is partly responsible for some of the poor results from the programme.
"There are a number of these non-school personnel who came into our schools who are now leaving because they cannot manage.
"The policymakers are not serious. (The) disconnect is one of the major reasons why we are not seeing enough success at the top end. And, until we can do that, we are going to have serious problems. It is seriously affecting progress," he said.
Invitation
Sharon Reid, principal of St Andrew High School for Girls and president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS), agreed. She said many principals were shocked by the move to hire deans of discipline.
Advertisements, carried in newspapers, were what alerted many principals to the ministry's plan to hire the deans.
The JAPSS president revealed that after taking up her post as head of the association, one of the first things the executive did was write a letter to the minister of education announcing that the executive was now in place. The letter was copied to the permanent secretary. But no official from the ministry responded. "We have never been invited to meet with even the permanent secretary," Reid said.
Esther Tyson, principal of Ardenne High School and vice-president of the JAPSS, told our news team that she had some "serious concerns about who is it that is really sitting down and looking at our education system from the beginning to end to say this is what we need, this is what needs to be put in place, these are the measures and how we are going to drive it".
The Reverend Dr Gordon Cowans, principal of Knox College in Clarendon, agreed that the disconnect between policymakers and principals was evident.
Cowans said he was very committed to a research-based approach to policy and argued: "There must be a range of data and information available to the foot soldiers - those people on the ground."
He further argued that this would serve the ministry well in its bid to formulate policy that would move the education sector forward.