The Jamaican Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS) held its biennial retreat in Havana, Cuba, from Wednesday, May 21, to Sunday, May 25. Thirty principals participated in this retreat, the aim of which was to view for ourselves the Cuban educational system. Arrangements were made with the Ministry of Education in Cuba, which developed an itinerary for us to speak with officials of the ministry and to visit schools ranging from secondary to pre-university and university levels.
What we were exposed to was a system that was developed in response to the needs of the people of Cuba and which keeps evolving even as the needs continue to be identified.
The education ministry engages in ongoing research and uses the results to refine the system. What I found most impressive were the recent changes made at the secondary level since 2000.
The Ministry of Education realised that the students did not do as well at the secondary level as they did at the primary level. The research pointed to the fact that the students found it difficult to adjust to the secondary level with its myriad teachers and large class size. The ministry, therefore, decided to make drastic changes to address this problem.
ratio of students to teachers
First of all, it reduced the ratio of students to teachers at the secondary level to 1:15. This means that there are classes with only 15 students or where a class has 30 students, there are two teachers. Second, it sought to minimise the number of teachers teaching each class. It revamped its teacher-training practices and instituted a system which saw each teacher at the secondary level being trained to teach at least four subjects. Third, through research, they identified the subjects the teachers thought to be most difficult and they developed a system to deliver those subjects to the students. They did this by videotaping expert teachers teaching subjects such as science and mathematics and these were delivered to the students through television.
How is this organised? In Cuba, there are four educational television stations. These are used to air educational programmes which are seen by all the students at a particular grade level throughout the school week. The ministry ensures that each classroom is equipped with a television and a video player. Teachers are there to supervise the students and to assist them. Why am I impressed? Because the government uses research to assess what the educational needs are and then seeks to address the needs as they arise. This is because they are convinced that education is the means by which they will achieve the advancement of the people of Cuba. Now, I certainly do not agree with the communist ideology, but I am struck by the passionate commitment to education which the nation has.
priorities
The priorities of that nation are health and education. The buildings need refurbishing and many of them need a good coat of paint. Those people spend money on what they are passionate about. The question is: What are we, in Jamaica, passionate about? Is it education, or 'bling bling'? Is it show or reality?
An editorial in The Gleaner of Thursday, May 29, said that although education was a "critical part of the foundation upon which Jamaica can expect to build a successful, safe and functional society ... it is an area in which we have not done particularly well." The editorial added: "Many of the problems in the Jamaican society can be traced to this failing." These failings were then outlined.
What should this assessment lead to? Shouldn't it lead to drastic measures being put in place to remedy this malady? The private sector, including the media houses, which undertake to have polls done for all sorts of reasons, needs to initiate and fund research on the ills of our education system and how best to address them. The private sector and the Government then need to unite to implement these remedies. The transformation-in-education vision is a wonderful one, but the team lacks the necessary funding to do all that needs to be done. One area that the team is seeking to address is the area of special education.
It is very clear that the special-education needs of our nation are overwhelming. The organisation and funding of this area are sadly lacking. As a result of the poor family-life culture which exists in our nation, many of our children have wound up with serious learning problems. This area needs funding to be properly researched and to have the solutions swiftly and efficiently implemented. Do we have the will to address this disease in our nation?
serious condition
The Gleaner editorial outlined this serious condition as stated below. In its current state, the education programme needs immediate and widespread remediation. Let us look at this disheartening picture:
Two-thirds of our children are not ready to enter primary school.
Over 40 per cent of grade-four students do not master the literacy/numeracy requirements.
A third of all students leave primary school illiterate.
At grade six, the mean average test score in the national exam hovers not much over 50 per cent.
At the end of high school, no more than a quarter of the students have the requisite qualifications to matriculate to tertiary institutions or to get meaningful jobs.
No more than 40 per cent of Jamaican students pass math at CXC and a similar percentage fail at English.
We can continue to pay lip service as a nation to education or we can, as the Cuban people did in eliminating illiteracy between 1958 and 1961, put in place the drastic measures needed to deal with this alarming situation. We are now at the point of 'to will or to die'.
Esther Tyson is principal of Ardenne High School, St Andrew. Please send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.
