The suggestion of the cynic would probably be that they abandon their campaigns.

We, however, prefer to give Mrs Maudlyn Wright-Shaw and Ms Nadine Molloy the benefit of the doubt that there is greater substance to the platforms from which they launch their run for the presidency of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA).

The good thing, though, is that should what we have seen be all, Wright-Shaw and Molloy have time to recalibrate and recover. For, after the vote, it will be a full year before either takes up the job, given the JTA's Byzantine electoral and governance process. There is a president-elect for the entire tenure of the sitting president.

Perhaps that is not a bad thing in the current moribund circumstance in which the JTA finds itself, and there was to be an early transition to Mr Michael Stewart, the principal of Porus High School. There is, however, still another two months or so before the baton is passed.

Squeaky interventions

The pending leadership change in the JTA and the contest between Mrs Wright-Shaw and Ms Molloy are taking place at a time of great crisis in Jamaica's education system. The problem has generated much discussion in the wider society.

What has reverberated loudly in all this is the squeaky interventions, if not silence, and sheer lack of leadership on the part of the JTA in this debate. When it does speak, it's mostly in its role of a trade union, protecting the narrow interests of teachers, rather than addressing the larger issue of the delivery of quality education. Which is the basis of our concern with Mrs Wright-Shaw and Ms Molloy.

For instance, Ms Molloy in making her case for leadership, highlighted in this newspaper her familial pedigree. "I come from a family of leaders who love to serve, and I am determined to serve teachers at the highest level." Oh, she will also advocate for resources "to enhance teaching", as well as seek greater "accountability from parents with regard to what their children do in schools".

Mrs Wright-Shaw believes she has "the knowledge, flair and energy suited for a leader". She will ensure that under the new system for licensing teachers, that JTA members get professional credits for seminars and workshops they attend.

No call for accountability

We have no problem with the aspirations and personal assessments of the contestants and what they want to accomplish professionally. What is glaringly absent from any of these presentations, though, is a call for accountability on the part of teachers and school principals. They are, for instance, silent on issues such as performance-based pay for teachers and fixed-term contracts for principals.

Nor have they placed on their agendas, in a direct way, matters such as how to improve literacy by grade four, lifting test scores at grade six, or having Jamaican students pass more subjects at CSEC.

Pedigree and style may be important. However, we believe that in these serious times there are certain fundamental issues that must be addressed in any debate between the contestants for the leadership of the teachers' organisation. It is not too late for Mrs Wright-Shaw and Ms Molloy to, as we say in Jamaica, wheel and come again.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.