PNP gov't would give Patois formal recognition - Golding

A People's National Party (PNP) government will give formal recognition to the Jamaican language, party president Mark Golding says. 

Speaking at the party's 85th annual conference on Sunday, Golding said "we must acknowledge that we have a language problem in this country". 

"Part of the legacy of our colonial past is the belief that the Jamaican language, created by our own people, is somehow unworthy and only to be spoken by those who can't do better," he argued. 

Golding said: "It is time to move beyond that negative and backward way of thinking. It is time for Jamaica to formally recognise Jamaican as a language, to give it its due respect."

The status of Patois has been the source of a longstanding debate in Jamaica with proponents saying it should be recognised as a source of national pride and be used as a tool in the teaching of standard English. 

Some opponents have argued that the language is not standardised, despite documented history of this going back decades, and that recognising it and using it in schools will not make Jamaica globally competitive. 

"The expressive style and power of our language is part of what has made the Jamaican language an international cultural language. If it is loved abroad, why don't we respect it a yaad?" Golding questioned. 

He said a major cause of under-achievement at the primary school level is the assumption that English is the at-home language of children. "We must use the Jamaican language to advance learning in English, arithmetic and critical thinking."

Meanwhile, the PNP president said the party will reinstate civics as a mandatory subject in public schools. 

The Holness administration has included civics in the current curriculum, but some schools have complained about the lack of expertise to teach the area. 

Golding also reiterated that the PNP will remove the need for guarantors for persons to apply for loans from the state-owned Students' Loan Bureau. 

The Holness administration has removed the guarantor requirement for some groups, including those under the PATH programme.

He also said the PNP will introduce a loan payment rule which caps monthly SLB payments at a manageable percentage of income. "In periods where the borrower is out of work, their loan payments will be suspended and tacked onto the back end of their loan term."

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.