Facing down teacher glut

Dennie Quill, Columnist

Just when it looked like the spotlight on teachers was dimming, the issue of a teacher glut has emerged as the next great talking point in the nation.

Many persons have commented on the recent outburst of two past presidents of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), and I would only add that activism need not be devoid of civility. So we must find a way for these two to have a peaceful coexistence.

The latest issue to cause angst for teachers is the weekend warning from the Rev Ronnie Thwaites that there are no jobs waiting for those now being trained in the island's teachers' colleges. The announcement must have jolted those young teachers who entered college confident that on graduation, there would be a job waiting for them. Well, that is not going to happen. And even though there are reportedly 600 annual vacancies, there will be no recruitment for September 2013.

The minister's suggestion that some teachers consider alternative training as social workers did not go down well with the leadership of the teachers' union. I believe what the minister really wanted to say is that we have not been very good in this country in matching supply with demand in terms of our educational planning.

We may need more social workers in schools based on the myriad challenges and demands faced by teachers, but to invest in teacher education, only to be told that there is no job for you must be quite devastating. Yet, there are schools that are woefully short of specialist teachers, especially in areas such as science and mathematics. So should we be graduating more specialists?

RONNIE'S HANDS TIED

It seems that Education Minister Ronnie Thwaites' hands are tied behind his back. I believe the message he delivered to the teachers was done with grave difficulty. However, what we are witnessing is one of the areas in which the much-heralded IMF agreement will affect our country's development. The multilateral agency is not concerned about stuff like literacy and numeracy or the fact that a country that graduates a significant number of illiterates cannot progress and achieve its development goals. The IMF cannot understand that Jamaica is in a desperate push to raise school standards and produce quality graduates all round.

I also don't expect the IMF to be in any way concerned about the findings of the National Education Inspectorate conducted in public schools last year. After the exercise was completed, it was found that 86 of 250 schools assessed were lacking in leadership and were not being effectively managed.

What the country needs is not a freeze on hiring teachers. Instead, it urgently needs to weed out dead wood, incompetent and ineffective teachers and recruit the brightest and best. Schools, like any other organisation, require renewal, fresh ideas and energy, and I believe this will come from our young graduates.

There should also be a determined effort to reduce the teacher-pupil ratio in schools because this has been shown to be beneficial to learning. But how can this happen if the intention is not to fill vacancies in the schools and, presumably, to increase the workload of those who remain in the system?

Another thing: There are scores of retired professionals who would willingly give of their talent and sage advice to school boards in order to assist the management of schools; however, the practice has been entrenched to reward party faithful with board membership here and there without due regard for the likely contribution they can make. This has to change, and we hope Rev Thwaites is sufficiently open-minded to see that even persons with no political affiliation can offer their contribution.

It is gratifying that some schools are doing well despite the lack of resources. The common factor in all the successful schools is the leadership that they are blessed to have. Sadly, we don't have enough of this kind of game-changing leadership.

Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and denniequill@hotmail.com.