Declaring there was nothing new in the recent study on the state of education in Jamaica, Everton Hannam, president of the National Parent-Teacher Association, says that after 50 years the powers that be are still tinkering with education.

He was speaking during a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's North Street, central Kingston office yesterday, at which the Caribbean Policy Research Institute's (CaPRI) recent findings in the 'Report Card on Education in Jamaica' were examined.

Hannam said while he commended the report, it was just another in a long list of reports already done.

"As parents, we have to realise that we are important stakeholders, involved in the complete life of our child's development. Parents must be held to book in terms of the role they play in ensuring that their student, children or wards are participating in the process," he said.

"But you cannot be held to book unless you know where it is you're going and what you want to achieve in a given period. There must be specific targets set by all stakeholders - government, investors, private sector, educational system - and so on. All the stakeholders must set specific targets of what they want to achieve by 2030, with periodic revision, defining the role of each stakeholder."

The 'Report Card on Education in Jamaica', which was released last week, looked at the nine critical dimensions of education in Jamaica. The findings noted that all players, including the Ministry of Education, parents, students, administrators, teachers, employers and community leaders, have a part to play in ensuring that students learn.

Hannam also noted that parents needed to get actively involved in the career choices of their children, exploring the many vocations out there instead of focusing on the traditional fields.

anastasia.cunnningham@gleanerjm.com