The Editor, Sir:

Sometime ago Mike Henry suggested that schools should be placed in zones, beginning with basic schools and going up to the high school level. Children would attend the institutions in their area; generally speaking less money would be spent for transportation and less time on the road. Parents would have more money to buy books and other things. When students reach home early, there will be more time for assignments before going to bed, and they should not be very tired.

Very congested

In Clarendon, for example, there are Kemps Hill, Bustamante, Vere Technical, Garvey Maceo, Central, Denbigh and Glenmuir high schools. Parents, guardians and students can choose from these seven institutions in lower Clarendon. Three of these schools are situated in May Pen, which is probably the most central town in Jamaica and very congested. Students who do not have to go to May Pen or pass through the town should remain in Vere. Far too many children congregate in the capital on any given afternoon/evening when school is in session. During the Christmas term, soldiers had to escort some of them from the mall and other business centres to get transportation.

In upper Clarendon, there are Kellits, Edwin Allen, Claude McKay, Thompson Town, Knox, Spaldings and Clarendon College (high schools). The students in these institutions should come from local feeder schools. It is likely that the teachers in a particular locality would know the children there better than teachers elsewhere in Clarendon and other parts of Jamaica. These factors can contribute to an increase in disciplined students in Jamaica.

Children should be encouraged to practise to speak Standard English, so as to enhance their capabilities in communication.

I am, etc.,

BASIL FRASER

Halse Hall

May Pen