It is ironic that whenever quality problems arise in Jamaica's public education system, instead of attempting to raise the bar to an acceptable level, the powers that be instinctively lower standards to compromise with mediocrity.
This rot set in when the Government rebaptised what were in effect primary schools and designated them as 'upgraded secondary schools', a move that has proved to be disastrous with the pass rate in CXC mathematics this year at four per cent and in English at 13 per cent.
It now appears that the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has decided to offer associate degrees to students based on passes in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), itself a step down from the traditional 'A' level exams required for matriculation to the University of the West Indies and generally accepted in academic circles, even in the United States. Already, some American university administrators have expressed doubts about acceptance of the proposed associate degree, a position dismissed by Mr. Bradford Gayle, principal of Munro College, as 'typical imperialism'. In our view, Mr. Gayle's response to the debate and his ad hominem attack on Dr. Minott of A-Quest is shallow.
Much more reasoned and mature observations have come from Dr. Donald Peters, president of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago, and an impressive letter to this newspaper written by Shawna-Kaye Lester, a Jamaican student studying abroad. Both of these comments provide a sound basis for further discussion on the issue.
Dr. Peters warns that every government in the region should have concerns about "the credibility, rigour and context" of the proposed associate degree. He points out that the current secondary school curriculum does not adequately develop a student's analytical, decision making, or negotiating skills and questions whether the Caribbean Examination Council should take upon itself the right to offer associate degrees.
Ms. Lester makes the practical point that the associate degree would put Jamaican students wishing to study in America in the category of transfer students, thus making them ineligible for financial aid given to first year students attending American universities. Herself a past student of the CAPE programme, she is concerned that the courses do not reflect the rigours of university academics and might give the holders of associate degrees a false sense of their academic achievement.
We are disappointed that Professor Kenneth Hall, chairman of CXC, rather than trying to defend the issue of quality, has finessed the argument by insisting that CXC has the legal right to issue associate degrees. This may be so, but if this results in a further lowering of our education standards, it would be a step in the wrong direction.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
