I am extremely grateful for my education. It provided me with the tools to earn a living, allowed me to help others and it has kept me out of trouble. I must confess that, for instance, my thoughts are anything but 'kind' towards 'road hogs', but my formal and informal education allow me to consider the (long- and short-term) consequences of my actions before acting in anger, out of ignorance or impulsively. My back-up failsafe mechanism is my religion and spiritual beliefs - which are also learnt and, therefore, are another form of education. I would hate to have to answer (in eternity) for something silly (done in the moment).

We have thoroughly studied and analysed the reasons why so many of our young, unemployed/underemployed, frustrated, futureless youths turn to crime. Poverty, depressed communities and deficient education fail to equip them for life, to help others and to keep them out of trouble.

Excellently delivered

A few recent events brought this serious problem into sharp focus for me. The Medical Association of Jamaica put on a world-class symposium, June 4 to 7, 2009 on 'The impact of trauma on the health of our nation'. The topics were wide, varied and excellently delivered by very capable presenters.

Dr Herbert Gayle, anthropologist of social violence, Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, gave us a glimpse into the mind of the sort of individual who is uneducated/undereducated, ill-equipped to earn a meaningful living, gets by on "survival of the fittest" and is subjected to social pressures that make him/her likely to commit serious crimes. It wasn't pretty - to say the least. It underscored and reiterated the need for us to ensure that all our youths are educated.

The other events were the just-released GSAT (Grade Six Achievement Test) results and the recently concluded CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council) exams. The GSAT delineates and separates children, at an early age, into those who will be placed in a school environment that facilitates the acquisition of a top-class education and those who will have to overcome overcrowding and numerous (possibly overwhelming) distractions to succeed academically. Success in the GSAT is predicated on academic talent, intense studies, good teachers at school, a good learning environment at school and at home, aware and sometimes participating parent(s) and the ability to afford extra lessons.

The wherewithal

Success at CXC depends on the identical things that influence the outcome at GSAT level. This means that the gap between the students who had the wherewithal to perform well in the GSAT and those who did not will not only be propagated through the educational system, but also widen considerably.

Therefore, in general, our poor and susceptible youths will always be handicapped by a lack of a nurturing home, community, school and by poverty. These factors will relegate them to the ranks of the uneducated/undereducated, unskilled and unemployed.

We know a great deal about the cost of injuries (from crime, crashes and accidents) to society ($2 billion annually), the average cost to treat each gunshot victim ($230,000) and the root cause of crime and violence (an impaired family unit, poor education and sparse financial opportunities) - yet, we have not committed more resources to our numerous social maladies.

The underprivileged and disenfranchised will be educated by us or by their dysfunctional environment (filled with decimated families, mistrust, hate, revenge, competition for scarce resources, procreation, guns and gang affiliation). The Government must choose where it wants to concentrate its efforts - prevention or amelioration.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Feedback may be sent to garthrattray@gmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com