Responding to criticisms about the performance of her ministry, Fayval Williams is proud of their achievements despite the pandemic. William Knibb Memorial High School principal Linvern Wright has said that her stewardship of the portfolio is “poor”.

Fayval defends ministry as principal slams ‘poor leadership’

18 Dec 2021

Kimone Francis and Albert Ferguson

EDUCATION MINISTER Fayval Williams yesterday rubbished comments made by William Knibb Memorial High School Principal Linvern Wright, which characterised her stewardship of the portfolio as “poor”, declaring that she and her team have done a commendable job despite the ongoing pandemic.

“I’d love for him to state the specifics that he is not satisfied with, but I know that when I look back at the efforts of the education ministry, they are commendable,” Williams said during a Gleaner interview following the handover of a $20-million cheque from the Universal Service Fund to the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ).

The funding is to support the creation of a second educational channel dedicated to delivering programming to Jamaicans on a 24-hour basis.

Williams, who took the reins of the portfolio in September last year, said Herculean efforts have been made to keep students on track following the suspension of face-to-face classes in favour of online modality.

DID ‘AN EXCELLENT JOB’

The minister said in addition to efforts made to acquire and distribute laptops and tablets to teachers and students, lessons were broadcast on television and radio to minimise the disruption that would have ensued after Jamaican confirmed its first COVID-19 case in March last year.

“Yes, there have been hurdles. It hasn’t been perfect, but we worked with what we had and we did, in my estimation, an excellent job of keeping our education system going despite the pandemic in which we have had to live,” said Williams.

Wright, the president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPPS), gave the Andrew Holness administration a failing grade for what he said was its failure to properly manage the education sector.

“Our Ministry of Education is the worst I have seen it and we must not be afraid to call it out in the interest of our country,” said Wright in a post on Facebook. “[It is] mired in corruption, poor leadership, mindless policies and a deaf top tier. Education is on a slippery slope.”

Wright said the leadership of the ministry has reached crisis proportions and had become equally distressing.

The JAPPS head said it was time to challenge the leadership of the ministry “who continue to be impressed with themselves while many who know better are aghast at the inept and jaundiced leadership weighing down [the] education ministry”.

Wright said, also, that there has been a disconnect among principals and ministry personnel, pointing to the Sixth-Form Pathways Programme, which he argued is “moot”.

He labelled as “jokes” ideas such as the twinning of schools and the Sixth-Form Pathways Programme, which are “mooted and mindlessly recited to principals”.

He said that he was hoping that the recommendations from the Professor Orlando Patterson-chaired Jamaica Education Transformation Commission, which are being examined by the Cabinet, will bring forth initiatives of real change for the nation’s children.

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