Weak students pushed into private schools
Published:Sunday | October 3, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
After sitting the Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT), scores of Jamaica's barely literate students are taken out of the public-school system by the education ministry and placed in private high schools, raising concerns over whether the institutions are equipped to deal with their learning problems.
A senior educator ripped into the ministry's practice, describing it as a dubious placement mechanism, void of interest in the welfare of the students.
Among the Corporate Area institutions benefiting from the Ministry of Education's fairly recent policy move are Maths Unlimited, Quality Academics, School of Excellence, City College, Kingsway High, and the YWCA-School Leavers Institute.
The educator is of the view that the practice of buying places in these private institutions at a cost to taxpayers is a grand waste of scarce funds that would be better spent helping the same students.
"What is instructive is that when you look at the grades, you really have to wonder if these are really high-school students, and whether or not this is the best place to place them," explained the veteran teacher who, fearing a backlash from the establishment, spoke on condition of anonymity.
"One or two will get into the traditional high schools. The bulk of them would be placed in the technical high schools - Kingston Technical, St Andrew Technical and Dunoon Technical - and then a lot of the non-performers, so to speak, (get placed at these private institutions)."
behavioural problems
The senior school administrator explained that the ministry started the practice some three years ago. He said that some of the students do not do well at these private institutions, with some not making it beyond the first term as they are expelled for behavioural problems or poor academic performance.
"What I do know, which is unfortunate, is that when the kids go to, like Kingsway, which is a fairly well-established school, they can't perform and they don't do well and they are expelled by the end of the first term. This is another waste where they don't even get a chance to go to school for the two years that the Government is willing to pay for their tuition fees," the educator said.
The experienced teacher believes it is high time the policymakers stop burying their heads in the sand and accept that not every student will be book bright.
"If after nine years we are getting 30s and 40s, why buy places for them in high school and hope that some magic wand will enable them to do the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate and get some subjects?"
capacity to cope
Annette Smith, vice-principal of Quality Academics, confirmed that most of the students placed at the institution under the arrangement with the Government have problems coping with the curriculum. However, Smith said the private institution has the capacity to cope with the challenges posed by the poor-performing students.
"We do have teachers who teach special education. That is how we are hoping to close the gap," said Smith, who pointed out that this year's batch of 30 students is the first set being accepted by Quality Academics under the programme. In addition, Smith said, the teacher-to-student ratio at Quality Academics which is much better than what obatins in the public-school system, helps to facilitate more personalised intervention. Quality Academics has two grade nine classes: one set of 26 students, and the other class has 20.
The vice-principal also said that a diagnostic approach is used to determine the students' functional level to better tailor the required interventions.
Smith is of the view that the venture is an excellent public-private sector partnership. The students are accepted by the private institutions with the understanding that they repeat grade-nine as instructed by the education ministry.
Smith does not share the view that skills training is the way to go as she believes that the students need a "balanced education".
A vice-principal at a private institution, which is largely skills oriented, told our news team that she was "certainly" aware of the fact that the poorest-performing students were being sent to the private institutions. And, the notion did not rest well with her at all. "We are not okay. But these are the students we get, so we just accept it. We would have loved a mixture," said the administrator who asked that her identity be concealed because she was not authorised to discuss the matter with the media.
On Friday, Colin Blair, the education ministry's director of communications, confirmed that the ministry does have an arrangement with the private high schools. He, however, told The Sunday Gleaner that Grace McLean, chief education officer, was preparing the responses to our questions which include the reason for sending the poorest-performing students to these schools, the suitability of these institutions, the number of students, and costs involved. Up to press time, the responses had not been received.