The Editor, Sir:

I am currently a student at a prominent high school in Clarendon and would like to express my views on the placement of a group of students at the institution. The students are from All-Age schools from various communities at the Grade Nine level. The problem is that they are illiterate, they are not able to speak properly (fluently), they don't act civilised and have very low self-esteem.

The teachers are doing the best they can with them, however, they cannot be taught like normal students as they are very slow. They cannot spell simple words such as 'out, look, house, etc.' and it took them normally two sessions to write a simple sentence that says e.g., 'The boy went out of the house.' and this is a big problem for the teachers who are not trained to teach these type of students.

The school has implemented a mentorship programme whereby students from Sixth Form take a child or two from the class and teach them simple things, and try to inspire them to do better. However, I think more has to be done as these students are like outcasts in the education system, as they are not able to learn like the other students.

I am calling on the relevant authorities, the Minister of Education, to come in and address the problem by putting them in a special institution or hiring teachers who are trained to help these kinds of students.

Please withhold my identity.

From Goshen district

May Pen, Clarendon