Failing Schools in Jamaica

1. EXPOSITION
Sub-theme: What can be done to prevent the low academic performances achieved by failing
schools?
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, the topic that I have chosen to present this morning is one
that is very important to me. Having, seen the many social issues that arise from “failing”
schools and also seeing the impact it has on the development of the youths it has stimulated an
interest within me to aid in remedying the situation among the nation’s education system.
The education system of Jamaica is in a serious crisis. This comes about from the many issues
are arising from “failing schools.” The problems within the sector in relation to these “failing”
schools ranges from the low academic performances in subjects, rise in students being illiterate,
rise of crime and violence in the future and discrimination of the students that are actually doing
well in these schools. Robert Kiyosaki says in a quote that “Academic qualifications are
important and so is financial education, they’re both important and schools are forgetting one of
them.” I strongly agree with this because while schools are tending to one issue and another may
arise and is being completely ignored and this will indeed be a problem within the education
sector.
When one hears about “failing” schools a lot of questions come about, like, is there really
schools that are failing? Or what could cause these schools to fail? But really and truly schools
are indeed failing and not meeting performance standards. The real question is what can be done
to prevent low academic performances achieved by failing schools.
To capture the full essence of this topic I got three sources that aided in research. The first source
was from a newspaper article from the Observer on the 10th of August 2012, by Ms. Alesia
Edwards. My second source was audio and also written from the RJR News on the 12th of
December 2012. My third and final source was from a newspaper article from The Gleaner on
the 11th of September 2011, by Mr. Martin Henry who is a contributor to the newspaper.
In the article by Alesia Edwards, she makes reference to the former minister of education and the
now current Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Andrew Holiness who made the speech
addressing principals and members of school boards during the first day of the Minister of
Education Region 6 Back-to-School two-day conference at the Gran Bahia Principe Resort in
Runaway Bay. Mr. Holiness expressed his personal believe that failing schools do not have a
right to exist. Mr. Holiness continued saying “If failing schools are to be addressed then the laws
governing the country’s education system according to Mr. Holiness, “Will have to be changed
to allow the intervention of a central ministry.” So Mr. Holiness is aware of the issue and is
willing to put in measures that will work to eliminate this problem but one would have to ask
themselves; will this be enough? Mr. Holiness also talked about the leadership within schools,
saying “Whenever leadership fails in a school, you are guaranteed that all other systems will

2. fail.” He said. So is Mr. Holiness being too judgmental of the leadership personnel within these
schools?
An article from the Star published on the 28th of November 2011 and written by Ms. Elgin
Taylor (Star Writer) provided some insights and what could be some of the reasons these schools
achieve low academic performances. Many of which is the lack of effective leadership on the
part of the principal, poor teaching techniques, inadequate qualification of staff and lack of
adequate resources. “The situation may vary from school to but it is an important component
when determining reasons for failure in the school system.” She added.
It is very important that the ministry of education take whatever measure to resolve the low
academic performances that are closely linked to failing school. Another writer for the Observer,
Mr. Wayne Campbell gave some solid solutions, the article was published on the 10th of June
2013. He says “In order to cauterise, correct and turn Jamaica's struggling education system
around we need to place all principals on (3-year) contracts with immediate effect.”
He added saying, “We need to make it abundantly clear to all principals that they will be held
accountable for their performance, or the lack thereof, in all skill areas of teaching, leading and
management. Principals should be charged with managing the academic day-to- day running of
their schools and assisted by a manager to take charge of the non-academic functions and
activities of the school.”
He continued saying “Further, we should remove from the domain of the principals the authority
to recommend the appointment of senior teachers. This process as it currently exists is not only
very corrupt but also serves to demotivate many capable teachers which inevitably affects the
teaching and learning. This divisive tool serves to create discord among staff members. The
Ministry of Education should have the sole authority in this process.”
He went in depth saying “Secondly, for the most part, our teachers do not structure their lessons
to cater to the top or brightest pupils. In fact, this is not unique to Jamaica since most teachers do
not wish to leave any student behind. Hence, their lessons are pitched to the average or low-performing
students in their class. The education system does not adequately challenge our gifted
students and the society continues to fail them also. We need a paradigm shift in terms of how
teachers plan their lessons. Let us look at the school of thought that says it is best to plan a lesson
with the brightest pupils in mind, and by so doing the teacher will be able to pull up those who
are struggling.”
Lastly, he said “We need to reduce the teacher- pupil ratio to 1: 30 in our secondary schools and
1:35 in our primary schools. Yes, we are going to require more schools. However, this factor has
always been known to us. Sadly, not much has been done to address and increase school space
over successive governments. Gone should be the days of one teacher having 50 or more
students in a class. By continuing this policy we are setting ourselves up to fail.”
In evaluating the sources, all of the sources in my estimation are reliable and are authorized to
give information, with some having experience on the subject matter or others having intellectual
knowledge based on research and statistics. The first source consulted was Ms. Alesia Edwards;
she is a contributor to the Observer. She did an extensive report on what the former minister of

3. education the Hon. Andrew Holiness who made the speech addressing principals and members
of school boards during the first day of the Minister of Education Region 6 Back-to-School two-day
conference at the Gran Bahia Principe Resort in Runaway Bay. With all this said I have no
reservation in deeming her a credible and reliable source, having the credentials to speak on the
topic of failing schools. The information given in Mr. Holiness’s speech is valid and reflects the
current situation in today’s society and is reasonable and correct based on common sense
reasoning, the information is still reliable, due to the fact that much as not changed since the
last 5 years. However I found Mr. Holiness being too judgmental at times. The medium for
which this information was collected was via the Jamaica Observer newspaper.
The second source Elgin Taylor is a writer for the Star and has experience in the education
system of Jamaica and would be considered a valid source however, she didn’t make any
references to solutions that can help resolve the issue of failing schools. Elgin Taylor does not
make her opinion the most credible source, however she does make an excellent point when she
states that the situation may vary from school to but it is an important component when
determining reasons for failure in the school system.
The third source was by Mr. Wayne Campbell who is an educator and social commentator with
an interest in development policies as they affect culture and gender issue He writes for the
Observer. He did a very impressive article titled “Solutions to Jamaica’s transient education
system.” I deemed him a reliable and credible source, having the credentials to speak on the topic
of failing schools.
The problems I faced in doing this research paper is finding credible opposing arguments on this
topic. The information given in his article is valid and reflects the current situation in today’s
society and is reasonable and correct based on common sense reasoning the information is
reliable and current seeing that it was published this year. The problems I faced in doing this
research paper is finding credible opposing arguments on this topic.