Byron Blake and Ohene Blake | Towards a student-focused education development system

The Jamaican and British Caribbean Education system was never designed with the student in mind. It was designed to cater to a small, privileged group to fit into the British education system; and produce workers for the economic system and would fit into a highly stratified and exploitative society.

The system has undergone modifications, especially in the 70 years of internal self-government and Independence, but this has been mainly to form and number, not to the fundamental character, objective, curriculum, or teaching/learning methodology. There is still a small number of well-equipped schools at the early childhood, preparatory/primary, and secondary levels, but most schools at all levels are under-resourced, overcrowded, and short of teachers.

Policymakers, education planners, and even educators still speak about:

• “Human Capital Development.” Capital is owned. Capital produces for its owner, and increments from any innovation accrue to the owner. Capital does not produce for itself.

• Educating for today’s “Labour Market.” The needs of the labour market change. This is especially so in a technology-driven, dynamic environment. Workers trained for today soon become redundant.

In the circumstances, it should come as no surprise that the many reports and commissions on the Jamaican Education System have, without attribution, found that the System has:

• Failed most of our children, especially the boys, who (a) exit the primary school level either reading and writing below their grade level or not at all, (b) fail to pass basic English and Maths at the Secondary level, (c) leave the secondary level without achieving the five subjects to matriculate to the tertiary level, and (d) do not realise the potential of their God-given talents.

• Failed the business sector by not producing persons with the skills, attitude, and orientation for employment on graduation.

• Failed the Society in that with the level of violence being perpetuated, especially by youths in the 13 to 20 age group, it cannot realise the 2030 goal “Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business”.

The other conclusion from reports and observations is that the elite schools continue to achieve acceptable results. Their graduates matriculate to the tertiary level, although the registration is between 70 and 80 per cent female.

Against that continuous underperformance, and at the onset of the Fifth Industrial Revolution driven by high technology, including AI and 5G, it should be clear that Jamaica cannot continue to tinker with its education system. It cannot persist in making “learned” statements, and announcing the intention to establish a school or two to train students in the newest technology or area of development. It is time for fundamental change.

STUDENT-FOCUSED SYSTEM

A student-focused education system would, among other things:

• Emphasise curricula and teaching methods that respond to children’s needs, interests, and assets at their different stages of development. Children, especially boys, have energy, are curious, and need recognition and affirmation. The curriculum would allow for the study of things within their environs, and the teaching methodology would allow for exploration, discovery, and self-directed learning.

• Provide physical facilities, including classrooms, recognising that Jamaica is a hot tropical country, but requires safe facilities for both indoor and outdoor activities.

• Stress the need for learning materials and aids that are up-to-date and savvy but are relevant to the environment in which the students operate.

• Ensure that the curriculum balances the academic and co-curricular activities to produce rounded and well-adjusted citizens. The co-curricular activities would include physical education, sports, clubs, societies, music, dance, photography, and art. They would be supervised, assessed, and graded.

• Optimise the number of supervised contact hours each week and over the year to (i) provide adequately for the curricula and co-curricular activities, (ii) orient students to the conditions in the world of work, and (iii) recognise the objective conditions in many homes and communities where children are unsupervised and at risks for many hours.

• Encourage collaboration and teamwork.

• Develop programmes for students from the age of 15 to provide them with a minimum number of hours of work experience each year. This could be in the school, the public, private, or non-governmental sector. The experience will be assessed from reports by the supervisor to whom the student was assigned.

• Increase provisions for regular counselling in all schools, and greater interactions with the uniformed forces.

• Provide opportunities for students to assume leadership roles.

• Facilitate better nutrition by providing one, preferably two, meals each day for all students. Also, ensure that food, snacks, and beverages sold on school compounds meet agreed nutritional standards.

SOME IMPLICATIONS

A student-focused education system will encounter opposition. It will not be cheap.

First, there will be the need for:

• New or remodelled school buildings, especially for Early Childhood Education and for the increased co-curricular activities.

• Increased financing from the National Budget to cover areas such as increased emoluments for teachers and counsellors; building and remodelling of classrooms and other facilities; spaces for co-curricular activities; and the provision of meals. These expenditures are investments. Over time, a part will be recouped from reduced outlays in areas such as the prison and health sectors, and increased taxes from a more productive, innovative, and entrepreneurial population.

Second, there will be implications for teachers and the teaching profession. There will be the need for:

• Training and retraining, and reorienting of teachers, including at the teacher training institutions. Critical here are teachers for the Early Childhood system.

• Increased contact hours by teachers. Currently, the Jamaican teacher works 190 days per year. The new framework might require this to be raised, say to 200. This compares favourably with the rest of the public sector at 209 and teachers in South Korea at 220, although unfavourably with the United States at 180. Remuneration would have to be adjusted to secure acceptance.

Third, there will be implications for the business sector. The system requires that students from age 15 be given supervised attachments in areas of their interest. The business sector should be prepared not only to offer such opportunities but also to commit resources for the appropriate supervision and stipend to offset their costs.

Fourth, the system could benefit from collaboration among schools in close proximity. This would allow the sharing of specialised expertise and allow students to benefit from a wider range of options.

Let us not just imagine a Jamaica propelled by the creativity and energy of students from such a system. Let’s work to secure it.

Ambassador Byron Blake is former deputy permanent representative of Jamaica to the United Nations and former assistant secretary general of CARICOM. Ohene Blake is former deputy CEO of Trade Board. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.