Garth Rattray | Level the educational playfield

The results for the PEP (Primary Exit Profile) came out recently. It replaced the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) several years ago. It is supposed to evaluate a student’s readiness for high school (secondary education) by using a series of ongoing assessments. It is supposed to be “… designed to enhance students’ academic and critical thinking capabilities by the end of primary education”. However, this transition period is horribly stressful for both the student(s) and parent(s).

I vividly recall many years ago when a semi-conscious lady was carried into the office. While taking her vitals, I repeatedly called her name. When she eventually groaned in response and barely opened her eyes, I asked her what was going on. She choked back tears as she told me that her son ‘passed’ (qualified) for a certain secondary school. She said that it was the last thing that she heard before blacking out. She went on to tell me that she will sell everything that she owns to send him to a better school.

Most children want to go to one of the current high-performing or elite schools in Jamaica. But getting averages of over 95 per cent is a very difficult task. To achieve such a goal, it requires incalculable hours of after-school and weekend work with parents and [paid] tutors.

Children who do not have certain socio-economic advantage are almost certainly relegated to a less impressive or underperforming high school. This could dictate their success or failure later in life. Something is innately wrong with such a system. Certain children are being brainwashed into believing that they are failures because they were unable to get the marks to go to such and such a high school.

POOR SELF-ESTEEM

That, along with the handicap of poor family life, community violence, endemic acrimony, and social shortfalls tend to breed citizens that have very poor self-esteem. Those children feel wronged by society at large; they become resentful of their lot in life that is perpetrated by an uncaring and biased system. They will likely easily exhibit antisocial behaviour as adults.

Many of our children do not have parents who have the ability, stamina, or inclination to spend hours poring over the homework and assignments with them. I often see (what I call) PEP parents who look tired and burnt out from co-preparing for the assignments and exam.

Sadly, in a lot of families, their children are the first to be able to go to high school. Those parents are not able to assist them in any way; in fact, some parents hinder the proper development of their children by distracting them from their schoolwork with the excuse of needing help to earn money for the household.

There are others who are simply not able to afford the fees of private lessons that inevitably come with preparing for the PEP. These after-school and [sometimes] weekend classes add up to a very hefty sum. In poorer families, their meagre disposable income must be used to keep body and soul together. There is nothing left over for the ‘luxury’ of extra lessons.

Many inner city and transitional zone communities are burdened with night noise from bars and various sound systems. The noisemakers say that they need the freedom to blow off the stresses of life, otherwise, they are likely to commit violent acts. It is impossible for any child to concentrate on schoolwork amid cacophony. It is sad to say that the authorities habitually turn a blind eye and deaf ear to those that blatantly violate the Noise Abatement Act.

NEVER CEASE

We will never cease stratifying society unless there is serious and sustained intervention in how children are raised. I spoke about certain aspects of biology at one of our prominent high schools many years ago. The children paid attention and took notes. Some asked relevant questions and I left with a feeling of accomplishment.

A few years after that, I was invited to speak at another high school on a similar topic. This high school was populated with children from the inner cities. The experience was cheese to chalk. The classroom was noisy as many children engaged in cross talk. Many girls repeatedly preened themselves and the boys threw things across the classroom. When a few asked questions, they had little to do with the topic. I left feeling very deflated because I saw first-hand the vast difference between those schools. I felt sorry for the teachers but sorrier for the students because I saw them as victims of our society.

If we are serious about justice, equity and a peaceful society, we need to invest in making our high schools of equal standard. The top schools have well-off and deeply involved past students who contribute heavily to the buildings, equipment, and grounds to make learning easier. All high schools should possess the same high standard of teaching, supplies, and equipment. The security should all be on par. There should be free, or at the very least, heavily subsidised extra lessons for all children. No child should be left behind.

Because there is so much riding on PEP, preparing for it should be similar in our primary educational institutions and our secondary educational institutions should be of similar standard. The main difference between them should only be their location. Then it would not matter where any child is educated because the opportunities for learning and success in life will be the same for all our children.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com