Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

Eddison Leighton of Maths Unlimited instructs students in a Ministry of Education-sponsored six-week intense course preparing them for the May/June exams last year .Maths Unlimited is one of several private businesses offering educational services. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

They are in your face everywhere you go. Their billboards are on almost every light post. Their representatives hand flyers to you as you walk on the streets and their advertisements appear on your television and flood the classified pages of today's newspaper.

They are private institutions offering secondary and post- secondary education in CXC/CSEC and A' level subjects, as well as vocational-type courses. There has been rapid growth in the number of these institutions in the last six years, officials say. The Ministry of Education says this is the fastest-growing arm of the education sector. They are taking advantage of a market that is said to be worth about $5 billion, other officials in the sector add.

Several Not Registered

But several of these institutions are not registered with the Ministry of Education, which means there are many that are not remitting taxes to the Government. This is a concern to administrators at other registered schools who believe some of these institutions are offering poor quality for cheaper prices. This concern is also shared by the ministry, which has set up a committee to create and administer an independent schools policy that will monitor the services and value of education being offered by newly-formed private educational institutions.

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, president of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA), Donovan Isaacs, charged that for many of these new institutions, the aim is simply to make money, as they pay very little attention to quality and do not seek ministry approval for their services. He says as the popularity and population of the schools grow, many of them fail to improve basic resources like space, to accommodate the increased population.

There are over 400 independent schools registered with the Ministry of Education. Over 50 per cent of them are secondary, post-secondary and vocational-type institutions. Of all those registered, there might be at least 25 per cent, Isaacs says, that are not registered, while another significant number are only temporarily registered with the ministry. Most schools

charge a sum between $15,000 and $33,000 per term, data from the ministry states.

"Of course they are in it for the money," says Isaacs. "When you're not there for the money you try to expand your business ... so over the years you grow, you have not only grown in population but the school itself must grow to facilitate and accommodate education," he adds. He says some of those offering science subjects for example, do not have science labs and so cannot efficiently teach the subjects.

"These places which offer high school education ... there is no infrastructure in those institutions to get the students involved in [co-curricular activities]. Those are not schools, they are patty shops!" he exclaims.

This is dissimilar to institutions like his own, the Institute of Higher Learning, and others such as Quality Academics that offer day and evening classes in CXC/CSEC and A' Level subjects, as well as other non-academic activities to enhance learning. These institutes also employ highly qualified teachers who have had years of experience in traditional high schools, he attests. With the rise in unregistered institutions, student attendance declines and resurfaces when people realise the schools don't fulfil what they said they were offering.

Poor monitoring

Isaacs says while the ministry has the power to regulate the schools, there is poor monitoring because the ministry does not have the resources. He says what the ministry has are only a few officers in regions across the country who cannot effectively monitor the schools because of the their small numbers.

Principal of Quality Academics on Ardenne Road in St. Andrew, Wayne Robinson, agrees there is not enough monitoring of these institutions. He says they tarnish the reputation of others who are properly registered and who seek to provide valuable education.

"The sector has grown rapidly and there needs to be strong management," he says. He is supporting the establishment of a body to regulate and manage policy in order to encourage and improve the quality of service offered by private schools generally.

Yvonne Campbell, the director of Independent Schools in the Ministry of Education admitted that not all schools are registered with the ministry and there is no policy to monitor their quality and growth. But there is regular monitoring of the schools despite the lack of policy, she says.

"Currently, supervision of operations and curriculum delivery and implementations is done by education officers within the regions and supported by the Independent Schools' Unit in Kingston. Rigorous checks are done by the Independent Schools Officers before Final Registration can be given to any school," she reports.

But that process is only carried out on schools that are already registered by the ministry. There are several others that go unmonitored. As such, Mr. Isaacs says it is in the best interest of people to check with the ministry before attending any of these schools.

"Many of the schools which are advertised are just not equipped for what they are offering. So we need the public to realise that when they are making choices to go to a school they should first contact the Ministry of Education," he says.

Institutions in Kingston and St Andrew registered with the Ministry of Education

Evening Institutes

ACRM Evening Institute

Campion College Extension

Corporate Business Institute

Hagley Park Evening Institute & Skills Training Centre

Holy Childhood Institute of Professional Development

Mico Evening College

Moravian Institute

The Paralegal Training Institute

Continuing Studies Institutes

Accounting & Technology Solution LTD.

Caribbean Institute of Business

Caribbean Polytechnic Institute

Computer Professionals Training Ins.

Doncaster School of Practical Nursing

Duffs Business College

Eastern School of Practical Nursing

Emanuel Academic Institute

Horizon Institute of Business

Hutton's Education Unit

Institute of Academic Excellence

Institute of Higher Learning

Institute of Travel and Customer Service

Infoserv Institute of Technology

La Marie Spa/ Institute

Maths Unlimited

West Avenue Institute

Wilmot Academy

Wings Jamaica Ltd.