US$133 million has been allocated in the Jamaican education system for the construction of 6 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) schools and 1 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) academy focusing on the Arts. Each of the three counties (Cornwall, Middlesex, Surrey) is to have 2 of these new STEM schools. The student population in each school is projected to be about 2,500 – accommodating approximately 17,500 students in total. If the current total secondary school student population is about 302,000 [per Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY), 2019/2020], then these new specialist schools are slated to impact about 5% – 6% of that cohort. However, if we use the total number of students enrolled in public and private schools on the island (673,000: per STATIN 2020/2021), then this investment is to directly impact 2% – 3% of that total population.
Good Investment or Lack of Transparency?
This could very well be a good investment … BUT being a good investment does not automatically mean it is better, or the best use of money, time, or effort! It would be interesting to ascertain WHY our political directorate or policymakers decided to go down this route – focusing limited resources on only 7 new schools, instead of using the funds to address the deficiencies of hundreds of existing schools in Jamaica. The lack of transparency and accountability is a breeding ground for corruption, bribery, and malfeasance in high places. Any government that is not transparent and accountable has something to hide from the people it supposedly serves. Any government that claims to be transparent and accountable must show that in its action (not a “bag a mout”!) to help build public trust. Put simply, to help build public trust, transparency and openness will become visible when a series of indicators are addressed. Gavelin et al (2009), in their paper entitled “Open Government: beyond static measures” introduced new and complementary indicators for measuring government openness. The paper was produced for the multinational Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which was established in 1961 with 38 member nations, with the goal of promoting global commerce and economic advancement. In summary, these proposed metrics pertain to the existence, efficacy, and effectiveness of the following:
1) legislation governing document and information access
2) institutions of Ombudsmen and Information Commissioners
3) institutions of Supreme Audit
4) policies for public consultation.
Any government that is not transparent and accountable has something to hide from the people it supposedly serves. Any government that claims to be transparent and accountable must show that in its action (not a “bag a mout”!) to help build public trust.
So, in the interest of transparency and public trust, the public needs to know AND have access to information as to WHY the government, claiming to act in the interests of the country, decided to invest US$331 million in 7 schools, instead of addressing the existing lack of the many across the length and breadth of Jamaica! The public needs to know and feel that it is part of this consultation and decision-making process that affects the education of its children. And if the government, in the name of the people, decides to go ahead with this or any other investment, what assurance and insurance does the public have against government mismanagement, corruption, bribery and malfeasance?
So, in the interest of transparency and public trust, the public needs to know AND have access to information as to WHY the government, claiming to act in the interests of the country, decided to invest US$331 million in 7 schools, instead of addressing the existing lack of the many across the length and breadth of Jamaica!
Where am I going with this? No doubt the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY), and all ministries for that matter, will tell us, the public, that money is a scarce resource, and second, that they must try to spend their monetary allocations as prudently as possible, to achieve the most impact for its customers, the people of Jamaica. Inarguably, getting the most for this US$133 million infrastructure development (about Ja$20 billion) must have been the government’s central consideration – at least, one would think. The report of the Jamaican Education Transformation Commission (JETC, 2021) may have also been a beacon that guided or gave impetus to this investment decision by the political directorate. The report, not the first such road fitness test of our education system, re-emphasizes the urgency for greater support in, and alignment of the wheels of education to move us, the country, forward. On average, across the board – school levels, regionally and across gender – our students’ performance in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Literacy, Numeracy, Research … leaves much to be desired. The World Bank Human Capital Project (2018) assesses that the quality of learning in Jamaica, by age 18, is about 62% of what is expected at the end of secondary school. This, it claims, is a learning gap of about 4.5 years. Will the creation of 7 STE(A)M schools materially address these gender-regional and learning gap challenges? Where is the evidence?
“Jamaica is a very unequal society, and this is strongly reflected in the inequality of our schools. We, in fact, have two school systems, especially at the high school level.” (The Reform of Education in Jamaica, 2021 – REPORT, p. 65)
Yes, there’s a crocodile in the room! The “State of Education in Jamaica” needs urgent and rational (decision-making) transformation – severally and as a whole – tied to a comprehensive plan of action to improve the quality, relevance, and inclusivity of education to ensure that ALL Jamaicans have an equitable access to skills and knowledge they (and the country) need to succeed in the 21st century and beyond.
Instead of building from scratch new STEM and STEAM schools, why not use the US$133 million to address the existential threats, as itemized in the JETC report, in existing schools in the country? Why does the MOEY not use this investment to provide financial support, and facilitate project management, to primary and high schools to improve STEM or STEAM instruction, increase youth engagement, better serve disadvantaged demographics underrepresented in science and technology related fields. At the ministerial level, along with other stakeholders, an effective graduate education for the future’s STEM workforce (as employees and entrepreneurs) must be designed and activated.
At the ministerial level, along with other stakeholders, an effective graduate education for the future’s STEM workforce (as employees and entrepreneurs) must be designed and activated.
Cauterising the sore performance of the education system, to lift it to a more sustainable and impactful level means we MUST pursue those avenues that will effectively impact, bring equity and purpose of vision, to benefit most of the targeted student body? This investment must be an opportunity for the organisers, executors and all the other hands on the deck, to focus on and manage a gradual, but extensive, overhauling of the infrastructure and technology facilities, facilitating and supporting relevant teaching and learning pedagogies, and curriculum development to expand STEM and STEAM in ALL our schools – anchored to a vision of what we reimagine Jamaica to become, socially, industrially, and globally.
Why only 7 STE(A)M schools when we could do many more?
Early this year the Finance minister, Dr. Nigel Clarke, also announced that approximately Ja$1.05 billion was earmarked for the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Primary and Secondary Infrastructure Programme. The main objectives of the Ja$1.05 billion project include the construction of 1 infant school, plus classrooms and other amenities (at 17 high and 2 primary schools), the upgrading of electrical facilities (10 high and 3 primary schools) and security fencing infrastructure (at 3 high and 17 primary schools). IF the GOJ is planning to spend Ja$1B to upgrade at least 17 high schools and 17 primary schools, then couldn’t the Ja$20 billion (US$133 million) be used to “upgrade” some (20 x 17 =) 340 primary schools and 340 high schools instead? These 640 schools would be about 64% of the total number of public education institutions we have in Jamaica (999 per STATIN, 2016). Put another way, it would be aimed at impacting some 431,000 students in total, across the highways and byways of Jamaica – NOT JUST 17,500 students if we only run with the current proposal.
So, do we need to “wheel and come again!” to genuinely find a better way to utilize and manage public funds for the advancement of the whole, rather than just for a few? Would it be better to impact the lives of some 431,000 students (64%), or to go full STEAM ahead with a decision to impact only 17,500 students (5%) of the approximate total number of students in the school system? Which would be a better use of the scarce resources from the public’s purse? The clarion call for the overdue action is unmistakable, but I fear that Dr. Lascelve “Muggy” Graham might be right when he wrote the article, “We are not serious about education” (Jamaica Gleaner, 29 July 2021). Is he right? What a ting!
John Wayne Warren, MA (Ed) is a trained accountant, auditor, and qualified teacher who is currently actively involved with the Jamaican diaspora and his alumni association.