Another Pathway to defund schools?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Many see the Sixth Form Pathways Programme (SFPP) as a reincarnation of the failed Career Advanced Programme (CAP) which was aggressively promoted by the former Minister of Education, Ruel Reid. You will recall that at the time, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI) promised to pay the tuition fees of students in traditional sixth form programmes on CAP. However, even after students completed their examinations and departed these institutions, fees remained unpaid. School leaders are therefore justified in their cynicism about the Ministry of Education’s commitment to properly funding the SFPP which features many elements of CAP.

Private institutions stand to gain more from the SFPP than public and grant-aided schools which currently have sixth forms, and are therefore enthusiastic about the ministry’s new directive. The MOEYI has stated that it will pay $60,000 for students in the public system and $80,000 for students in private schools. The parents of students in these private programmes will likely have to cover the balance if the ministry’s contribution does not suffice.

If we follow the data of the educational attainments of students at the end of fifth form, the majority of them will not qualify for traditional sixth form programmes and instead will be filtered into private schools. However, the recent and still-unresolved issue with the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education should give us pause. Here was an example of a private body which received tens of millions of taxpayer’s money for supposedly training students for occupational associate degrees. However, the MOEYI could not properly account for funds paid to it or the efficacy of the programme. If this bundled arrangement stands as a harbinger of how the MOEYI handles partnerships with private training institutions, it is indeed worrying and the real benefit to students is questionable.

The MOEYI seems to be on a relentless campaign to defund public and grant-aided schools and they have largely succeeded. Parents simply ignore schools’ desperate pleas for contributions and leaders of public schools are now vilified mendicants. The truth is that many schools remain heavily dependent on the fees charged at sixth form to guarantee the quality programmes offered and to prop up their institutions while they await often long-delayed payments from the MOEYI. However, with this compulsory programme, the grave financial situation of schools will become even more dire. Unfortunately, the MOEYI has not proven itself deft at managing its finances or properly funding existing programmes. Until it does, the reception of new and seemingly rushed programmes will always be greeted with scepticism and seen as a threat to quality education in Jamaica.

MARIA MUTIDJO

Teacher