Kristen Gyles | Mandatory or no good?

Gear up, boys and girls! Mandatory sixth form is here. Many of you, like me, are suffering from a type of psychological fatigue from the excessive use of the word ‘mandatory’, since we have been hearing it very often lately and in some very unnecessary contexts.

The determination has been made that all students must now spend seven years in high school before graduating, as opposed to five. So, the once optional sixth form programme, which many schools to date do not offer, is now mandatory.

So far, the explanation as to why sixth form should be mandatory sounds pretty much like the objective is to ensure students have something to do after leaving fifth form. Except that students do have things they can do after leaving fifth form. All the options under the Sixth Form Pathways Programme are currently available to students, but, God forbid, 16-year-olds have a *choice*.

I’ve made this point numerous times now and will continue to make it. Something being good does not mean it should be mandatory. Yes, sixth form prepares students for further studies. Yes, sixth form builds maturity. Yes, sixth form buys time for students to make up their minds about career choices. And most important, sixth form is an excellent daycare for idle pickneys who can’t find work. That does not mean it should be mandatory! We have tried playing the mandatory card so many times it’s as if a thing needs to be no good in order to not become mandatory.

DECLARED MY GROUSE

So, since I’ve already declared my own grouse with our obsession with making things mandatory, I’ll comment on the practical issues with mandatory sixth form (since that is all the Sixth Form Pathways Programme actually is).

A part of the rationale for the new mandatory sixth form initiative is that it will better prepare students for higher-level academics. I’m sure that’s true. Where I got lost was where it was also mentioned that for those not immediately continuing their studies, the programme is intended to help in building competence for the working world. While it sounds neat, it is practically untrue. And it also gives the hypocritical impression that young people today require more schooling in order to work than young people 30 years ago.

Those who are more mature in age know exactly what I’m talking about, as many began working before attaining a bachelor’s degree. In other words, just three to four decades ago it was the norm for young people leaving high school to get a job or start some form of apprenticeship. The rationale behind this new initiative falls just short of saying that sixth form will become mandatory because the State has failed to keep unemployment levels among young people at bay. The rationale originally provided as to why students need seven years of school was that too many students are idle nowadays after fifth form with nothing to do but join gangs and get pregnant.

What has changed over the past three to four decades? All that has changed is that the job market is now pretty saturated with highly educated people jostling for the same jobs. To solve that problem, you would think our solution would be more jobs, but it’s actually more education. Which is very, very circular. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for education, but not as the means to addressing what is clearly an unemployment issue.

The other problem is that practically speaking, this Sixth Form Pathways Programme, like PEP, is an unnecessary structural change to education that will inconvenience many. Why it’s more important to superimpose a mandatory programme for which no clear need has been articulated, even at the cost of clear logistical challenges down the line, no one seems to know.

Many schools do not currently have a sixth form programme. These schools are now hearing that they have the responsibility of connecting their students with a sixth form programme. We will see how that goes, if it goes. Furthermore, this rushed programme, having essentially been pulled out of a hat, is right now being communicated for implementation right now. Not to mention, less than 35 per cent of Jamaican students who sit Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams actually move on to attend sixth form currently. The impact of this new initiative, therefore, can’t be minor.

FALLEN INTO THE TRAP

Many people have fallen into the trap of assuming that students who don’t attend sixth form stay home for two years twiddling their thumbs. There are many students who make intelligent decisions about their own career paths and act on them, and those intelligent decisions don’t always include sixth form.

But even in the extreme cases of the most misguided students, the expectation is now that they will actually complete seven years of school whereas many weren’t completing five before. We have actually lessened the likelihood of a student completing high school, through the introduction of mandatory sixth form.

To go back to the actual issue here though, why are so many students not completing high school anyway? We have a widespread money problem in a country where education is altogether rather expensive. Many students leaving grade 11 are eager for income earning opportunities. Instead, the new mandatory sixth form programme now forces them to spend an additional two years studying (at a cost) while not earning. Clearly, many won’t be happy. The programme totally ignores the real issue and reinforces the illusion that the only viable option for a student leaving fifth form is more school. In any case, that should be the individual’s choice to make.

Let’s address the real issues. The real issue here is chronic joblessness among young people, and mandatory sixth form is like a Band-Aid being stretched over a broken bone in this regard.

Kristen Gyles is a graduate student at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Email feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com.