EDITORIAL - Giving second chances

From time to time, we have acknowledged the contribution of private-sector foundations to nation-building, especially their investment in education.

Reference is drawn to the recent donation of computers by the Digicel Foundation to the Ministry of Education's Alternative Secondary Transition Education Programme (ASTEP). Like the Digicel Foundation, the philanthropic arms of various companies operating in Jamaica have filled the resource gap to keep many schools functioning.

The ASTEP initiative is designed to provide customised education to more than 4,000 primary-school students who did not attain mastery of the Grade Four Literacy Test and will help them over a two-year period to transition to the secondary-school system.

This is a second chance for students who are performing below their grade level, some of whom have consistently failed the Grade Four Literacy Test. In announcing the programme in Parliament, then Education Minister Andrew Holness noted, "These are the students who clearly have ... problems in their households, problems in their community; students with moderate to severe learning disabilities; and students with self-esteem and motivation issues. Their needs will be addressed under ASTEP."

Under ASTEP, students are placed in 246 centres established in select primary, all-age and primary and junior high schools. Over a two-year period, they will receive the necessary intervention and intensive support to successfully transition to secondary school, without having to take the Grade Six Achievement Test.

Hope for progressive continuity

This programme must be lauded as a solid step towards addressing a daunting challenge within our educational system, for if students are not reading at their appropriate grade level, their proficiency will not improve in high school and their job prospects are clearly diminished. An educated and talented workforce is essential to the well-being of our country.

We have not heard any assessment on the students' progress as yet, and we hope that the necessary resources have been put in place to make it work successfully. For such a programme cannot be allowed to become a victim of Government's parsimony. Given the realities of the current financial bind, the Government may be hard-pressed to provide the necessary resources to, say, pay enough specialists to ensure class sizes are within the 20-25 limit and that there is the necessary technical support.

This is why we laud Digicel for its investment. We go further and suggest that there should be a groundswell of backers for ASTEP and any other initiative that attempts to offer second chances.

We note Education Minister Ronnie Thwaites' admonition to the students at Seaview Gardens as he urged them to be attentive and make the best use of their chances.

But anyone with a passing knowledge of Jamaican life is aware that many schools have been victims of robberies, sometimes repeatedly. Thieves make off with valuable equipment such as computers, and it seems that the community support has to be enlisted to ensure that students' education is not interrupted because of selfishness and greed on the part of a few.

All communities need to commit themselves to become guardians of their children's education, and this means ensuring that school property remains sacred. We trust that these computers will serve these students for a very long time.

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