MR. AUDLEY SHAW, M.P.

 

OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN ON FINANCE & THE PUBLIC SERVICE

 

IN DEBATE ON EDUCATION

GORDON HOUSE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2003

 

 

THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN CRISIS / OUR CHILDREN AT RISK

 

IN FEBRUARY 2001, A WHITE PAPER ENTITLED “EDUCATION: THE WAY UPWARD” WAS TABLED IN PARLIAMENT BY THE THEN MINISTER OF EDUCATION.

 

FOURTEEN (14) MINIMUM TARGETS WERE SET, MOST IF NOT ALL OF WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN ACHIEVED, WHILE TARGETS FOR LATER YEARS APPEAR INCREASINGLY UNACHIEVABLE.

 

SOME OF THESE TARGETS WERE:

• FULL ENROLLMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD AGE COHORT AGES 4 AND 5 BY THE YEAR 2003.

 

• PARENTS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO UNIVERSALLY WELL RUN BASIC SCHOOLS WITH MINIMUM STANDARDS OF INSTRUCTION, I.E. IN MANCHESTER FORMAL INFANT SCHOOLS HAVE NO SPACE. (CITE MANDEVILLE, BETHABRA & PORUS SCHOOLS.)

 

• TEACHER/STUDENT RATIO IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS TO BE STANDARDIZED AT 1:35 BY THE YEAR 2003.

 

• MANY PRIMARY SCHOOLS ISLANDWIDE HAVE RATIOS WELL IN EXCESS OF THIS TARGETTED RATIO. THE RATIO OF 1:35 MUST BE LOOKED AT BEYOND THE AVERAGE FOR THE SCHOOL – I.E. TO LOOK INSTEAD AT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CLASSES AT THE SCHOOL THAT ACTUALLY EXCEED THAT RATIO.

 

ALSO, THIS RATIO IN OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS OFFERS LIMITED COMFORT I.E. IN SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS A FLIMSY PARTITION IS PLACED BETWEEN TWO SETS OF 35 OR 40 STUDENTS.

 

HOW CAN CHILDREN LEARN IN THIS ENVIRONMENT WHERE THREE AND FOUR STUDENTS HAVE TO “KOTCH” ON ONE COMBINATION DESK AND CHAIR IN THESE NOISY AND OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS?

 

• EIGHTY PERCENT (80%) OF ALL GRADE 6 COMPLETERS TO DEMONSTRATE FULL LITERACY BY 2003.

 

-   FAILED, CITE 50% OF ENTRANTS TO CHRISTIANA HIGH SCHOOL FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE - SYMPTOMATIC OF A SYSTEMWIDE PROBLEM ESPECIALLY AT NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS.

 

• FIVE YEARS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 7 IN THE YEAR 2003 AND THEREAFTER.

 

• G.S.A.T. STUDENTS ARE STILL BEING PLACED AT ALL AGE AND PRIMARY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS, WHICH DO NOT OFFER SECONDARY EDUCATION.

 

• FIVE (5) PERCENT ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS PASSING ENGLISH AND MATHEMATICS IN C.X.C. IN RELATION TO THE TOTAL GRADE 11 SITTING.

 

• THE MOST RECENT C.X.C. RESULTS TELL THE STORY THAT THIS TARGET HAS FAILED.

 

• TO INCREASE THE PROVISION OF BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE (I.E. DESKS, CHAIRS) TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ENROLLED STUDENTS AND TEACHERS BY 2003.

 

• NOT MET, EVERYWHERE, THERE IS A CRY FOR ADDITIONAL FURNITURE.

 

• MINIMUM OF ONE COMPUTER PER PRIMARY SCHOOL, LINKED TO INTERNET OR OTHERWISE PROVIDED WITH ENCYCLOPEDIA AND OTHER LEARNING SOFTWARE BY DECEMBER 2001.

 

• TWO YEARS LATER, THIS GOAL HAS STILL NOT BEEN ACHIEVED, AS UNAMBITIOUS AS THE GOAL WAS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

 

• THE INTRODUCTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY SCHEME BY THE YEAR 2003.
• TARGET HAS NOT BEEN MET.

 

THIS IS THE BACKGROUND AGAINST WHICH WE DEBATE THIS MOTION TODAY.

 

OF NOTE, IS THAT CHILDREN ENTERING SCHOOL IN 1989, AFTER THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT ASSUMED POWER, HAVE NOW EITHER GRADUATED OR ARE GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL.

 

DURING THIS TIME THE COST-SHARING PROGRAMME WAS INTRODUCED. WHAT IS THE OUTTURN, AND IS IT AN OUTTURN OF WHICH WE CAN ALL BE JUSTLY PROUD?

 

LET US DEPART FROM THE CONCEALMENT OF INFORMATION WITH THE LAW OF AVERAGES AND LOOK AT THE ACTUAL RESULTS – NOT OF A TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOL – BUT ONE OF THE NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS.

 

CHRISTIANA HIGH SCHOOL STATISTICS – SEPTEMBER 9, 2003                  

• STUDENTS ENTERING

SEPTEMBER 2003           586  

• STUDENTS IN NEED OF

REMEDIAL CLASSES           290     50%

• APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF

STUDENTS IN ALL GRADES REQUIRING

REMEDIAL CLASSES IN ENGLISH

LANGUAGE               1,200      45%

4.   TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION        2,500

• TOTAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS

ASSIGNED TO ENGLISH REMEDIAL

CLASSES               6

• TEACHER/PUPIL RATIO IN REMEDIAL

   CLASSES               1:48

 

7.    TEACHERS NEEDED TO MAKE

   REMEDIAL RATIO 1:20           14

• COST OF 8 ADDITIONAL TEACHERS

   (ANNUAL) 6 x $700,000           $5.4M

• TOTAL STUDENTS FINAL

YEAR 2002/2003             390

 

• DROPOUTS IN FINAL

YEAR 2002/2003           50

 

11.   TOTAL GRADUATED JULY 2003       340

 

12.   NUMBER WHO TOOK C.X.C. ENGLISH   116

 

13.   NUMBER PASSING C.X.C. ENGLISH     20     17%

 

14.   NUMBER WHO TOOK C.X.C. MATH     18

 

15.   NUMBER PASSING C.X.C. MATH       6   33 1/3%

 

• NUMBER PASSING C.X.C. ENGLISH

AS A % OF THOSE WHO LEFT SCHOOL   340/20   6%

 

• NUMBER PASSING C.X.C. MATH AS A

% OF THOSE WHO LEFT SCHOOL     340/6     2%

 

 

 

IN TWO HIGH SCHOOLS WITH A TOTAL OF 243 STUDENTS, THERE WERE NO PASSES IN ANY C.X.C. SUBJECTS IN 2003.

 

CAUSES OF THESE POOR RESULTS

• FIFTY PERCENT (50%) OR MORE OF STUDENTS ENTERING TYPICAL NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS ARE BELOW FUNCTIONAL LEVELS, I.E. UNABLE TO MASTER READING AND COMPREHENSION AT GRADE SIX. (THERE ARE SOME STUDENTS ENTERING HIGH SCHOOL WHO CANNOT WRITE THEIR NAMES).

 

• MANY NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS ESPECIALLY IN URBAN GENTRES, ARE OVERCROWDED, WITH INADEQUATE TEACHING AND ANCILLIARY STAFF, INADEQUATE CLASSROOM SPACE, INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT INCLUDING COMPUTERS, LARGE TEACHER/STUDENT RATIOS 40-50:1, INADEQUATE REMEDIAL PROGRAMMES IN ORDER TO DEAL EFFECTIVELY WITH THE LARGE NUMBER OF ENTRANTS IN NEED OF REMEDIAL EDUCATION

 

• THE OBVIOUS DYSFUNCTION AT PRIMARY AND ALL-AGESCHOOLS WHICH TRANSFER SUCH A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF FUNCTIONAL ILLITERATES TO OUR HIGH SCHOOLS, SUGGESTS THE NEED FOR A TOTAL REORGANIZATION AND OVERHAUL OF OUR CURRICULUM TO TEACH THE CHILDREN TO READ AND COMPREHEND IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

 

• IRREGULAR ATTENDANCE AT ALL PRIMARY, ALL-AGE AND NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS ARE LARGELY A DIRECT RESULT OF POVERTY, WHERE PARENTS ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION, FOOD, UNIFORMS AND ADDITIONAL BOOKS WHICH ARE NEEDED ESPECIALLY AT THE PRIMARY AND ALL-AGE LEVELS.

 

 

SOME SOLUTIONS

• GOVERNMENT MUST TAKE OVER AND STANDARDIZE ALL BASIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, AS PROPOSED BY THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION, AND CHANNEL SIGNIFICANTLY MORE RESOURCES INTO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. THIS MUST INCLUDE SPECIAL TRAINING FOR BASIC SCHOOL TEACHERS AND AN APPROPRIATE COMMON CURRICULUM DEVELOPED.

 

• MORE RESOURCES MUST BE PUT INTO PRIMARY AND ALL-AGE SCHOOL EDUCATION. I.E. REDUCE TEACHER/STUDENT RATIO TO 1:20 OR 1:25. (CITE RATIO OF 1:15 IN CUBA) I.E. IN GRADES 1-3, TEXTBOOKS ARE NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSING THE REVISED PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM. CITE IMPROPER AWARD OF CONTRACT TO VON HOFFMAN.

 

THE GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED TO DEMONSTATE IN A CREDIBLE FASHION, WHY IT IS THAT THE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOK PRODUCTION WHICH HAS BEEN DONE OVER THE PAST 18 YEARS IN JAMAICA, EMPLOYING HUNDREDS OF JAMAICANS, WAS AWARDED TO AN OVERSEAS CONTRACTOR, IN LESS THAN TRANSPARENT CIRCUMSTANCES.

 

THERE ARE SEVERAL CRITICAL QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED IN THIS MATTER.

 

• WHY WASN’T THE BID DOCUMENT FOR VON HOFFMANN, OPENED AT THE TIME OF THE PUBLIC OPENING OF THE TENDER DOCUMENTS?

 

• WHEN DID VON HOFFMANN QUOTE AND WHY WAS THEIR QUOTATION IDENTICAL TO THAT OF A COMPANY CALLED PAMONA CORPORATION WITH ITS ADDRESS AT A NONDESCRIPT RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT ON WATERLOO AVENUE?

 

• IF THE CONTRACT WAS SUMMARILY TRANSFERRED FROM PAMONA CORPORATION TO VON HOFFMANN, ISN’T THIS IMPROPER AND UNETHICAL AND DID IT HAVE THE APPROVAL OF THE CONTRACTOR GENERAL AND THE NATIONAL CONTRACTS COMMISSION?

 

• WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT OFFER THE CONTRACT TO AN OVERSEAS COMPANY DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE PRINTING HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DONE IN JAMAICA FOR THE PAST 18 YEARS EMPLOYING OVER 200 JAMAICAN WORKERS EACH YEAR?

 

• IS THERE A GUIDELINE IN USING LOCAL INSTEAD OF OVERSEAS CONTRACTORS, IF THE LOCAL BID DOES NOT EXCEED 15 PERCENT OF THE OVERSEAS QUOTATION, THEREBY PRESERVING LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND VALUE-ADDED BENEFITS TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY?

(IN THIS CASE, THE DIFFERENTIAL WAS ABOUT $3.0 MILLION OR 6% OF THE CONTRACT SUM)

 

• WHY HAS THE BOOKS BEEN SO LATE IN DELIVERY? IN THE PREVIOUS 18 YEARS THE BOOKS HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS LATE. IN CHRISTIANA, BOOKS WERE JUST DELIVERED LAST WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, WHILE THERE ARE OTHER PRIMARY SCHOOLS THAT HAVE STILL NOT RECEIVED THEIR BOOKS.

 

• THE SCHOOL-FEEDING PROGRAMME IN ALL SCHOOLS MUST BE PROPERLY ADDRESSED. ADEQUATE NUTRITION IS A VITAL PRE-REQUISITE TO THE LEARNING PROCESS.

 

• ADEQUATE WELL TRAINED TEACHING STAFF IN REMEDIAL EDUCATION MUST BE PUT INTO NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS WITH TEACHER/STUDENT RATIOS NOT TO EXCEED 1:20, BUT SHOULD IDEALLY BE AT 1:15 WITH APPROPRIATE ADEQUATE RESOURCES PROVIDED. THIS REQUIREMENT WILL RECEDE AS ILLITERACY IS ELIMINATED WITH PROPER PRIMARY LEVEL EDUCATION.

 

• MORE EMPHASIS MUST BE PLACED ON TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN ORDER TO STIMULATE STUDENTS ACADEMICALLY AS WELL AS PROVIDE FUNCTIONAL AND MARKETABLE SKILLS.

 

THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT AND PARENTS MUST BE MOTIVATED TO ACCEPT THIS.

 

• BUILD MORE CLASSROOM SPACE AND RATIONALIZE THE USE OF EXISTING SPACE, AS WELL AS PROVIDE MORE EQUIPMENT TO ALLOW FOR MORE SKILLS TRAINING IN ORDER TO RESCUE OUR MANY YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE GRADUATING WITH NEITHER FUNCTIONAL LITERACY, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT NOR MARKETABLE SKILLS.

 

• PROVIDE ADEQUATE FURNITURE, COMPUTERS AND REPAIR SCHOOL PLANT AS WELL AS WATER AND SANITATION. (I.E. C.X.C. PROJECTS IN WOOD WORK COULD BE INITIATED TO MAKE SCHOOL FURNITURE)

 

I.E. $10,000 NOW PROVIDED TO PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND $20,000 TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO EFFECT REPAIRS AFTER ONE YEAR OF WEAR AND TEAR.

 

TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000) IS THE PRICE PAID TO SUPPLY AND INSTALL ONE ALUMINIUM METAL FRAME WINDOW (49” x 49”).

 

OPPOSE PROPOSED CUTS IN SUBSIDY FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION

 

LET US COMPARE JAMAICA WITH TRINIDAD AND BARBADOS.

 

• IN JAMAICA, 15% OF AGE 18-22 COHORT ENTERS TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS. OUR STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY 20% OF THE COST OF EDUCATION.

 

• IN TRINIDAD, OVER 20% OF AGE 18-22 COHORT ARE REGISTERED IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS, AND FAST-RISING. U.W.I. – ST. AUGUSTINE MOVED FROM 8,000 TO 11,000 ENROLLMENT THIS YEAR. THE GOVERNMENT OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO COVERS HALF OF THE COST OF THE STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS 10%/10%.

 

• IN BARBADOS, 30% OF SAME AGE COHORT (18-22 YEARS) ARE IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS - F.O.C. (FREE OF COST)!! THE GOVERNMENT OF BARBADOS SENDS A CHEQUE TO THE U.W.I. AND OTHER TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS TO COVER THE 20% STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS.

 

FROM THE DAYS OF PRIME MINISTER ERROL BARROW, A COMMITMENT WAS MADE TO PUT THE LARGEST SINGLE PORTION OF THE BUDGET INTO EDUCATION – NEVER DEVIATED - HAD GENUINE CONSENSUS ON THIS ISSUE – HAS EXISTED SINCE.

 

NOW – EDUTECH – A PROGRAME OF TOTAL COMPUTER LITERACY FOR CHILDREN IN BARBADOS - THIS IS THEIR NEW PLAN.

 

COST-SHARING

IT IS AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND OF A POOR PLANT THAT IS TURNING OUT AN UNACCEPTABLE LEVEL OF ILL-EQUIPPED STUDENTS, THAT COST-SHARING MERELY EXECERBATES THE PROBLEM AS IT DEPRIVES STUDENTS OF RESOURCES FOR BETTER NUTRITION, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR UNIFORM, BOOKS AND OTHER VITAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WHICH ARE NOT PROVIDED IN THE NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS. NOT ONLY MUST COST-SHARING BE ABOLISHED NOW, BUT RESOURCES MUST BE FOUND TO CHANNEL 50% MORE TO EDUCATION AS PROPOSED BY THE J.L.P.

 

THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION HAS MADE EXHAUSTIVE PROPOSALS DURING THE DECADE OF THE 1990s CULMINATING IN THE MOST FAR-REACHING PROPOSALS IN THE JLP’S MANIFESTO OF 2002.

 

THE MAJORITY OF OUR CHILDREN (80 PERCENT) ARE IN NON-TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS. IT IS INTOLERABLE THAT THEY HAVE ONLY 9% PASSES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE (C.X.C.) AND 4.7% PASSES IN MATH (C.X.C.). THESE ARE POOR PEOPLE’S CHILDREN IN JAMAICA. THIS REPRESENTS A SQUANDERING AND SHAMEFUL WASTE OF OUR HUMAN RESOURCE.

 

THE PRESIDENT OF N.C.U. TELLS US THAT EDUCATION IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER. BUT IT CANNOT AND WILL NOT BE AN EQUALIZER UNTIL WE RESCUE OUR CHILDREN FROM INFANT SCHOOL THROUGH PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL AND GIVE EVERY ONE OF THEM AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO A GOOD EDUCATION.

 

MR. SPEAKER, THE CRISIS IS HERE, THE CRISIS IS NOW. THIS PATH IS NOT THE WAY UPWARD. WE ARE ON A DOWNWARD SPIRAL. WE WELCOME THE SPIRIT OF COMPROMISE THAT NOW EXISTS WITH RESPECT TO THIS MOTION. NOW IS THE TIME FOR CONSENSUS ON AN EDUCATION REVOLUTION THAT IS MOOTED BY THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION. IF WE FAIL TO ACHIEVE THIS, A BIGGER CRISIS AWAITS US, AND IS ALREADY CONFRONTING US - A CRISIS OF IGNORANCE DUE TO LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING, WHERE THE GREATEST POVERTY OF ALL WILL ENGULF US – POVERTY OF THE MIND.

 

 

 

AUDLEY SHAW, M.P.

 

OCTOBER 14, 2003