Certify High School Graduates

-
The decision by the Ministry of Education to stop offering the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination has turned out to be both ill-advised and foolhardy.
At the time the decision was taken the education ministry said the SSC examinations had lost its relevance in the society. The Ministry of Education announced then that a more relevant high school diploma would replace the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations.
The SSC Examination was introduced in the 1970,s and served as an exit exam for many students after their five year stint at the secondary level. Many years have passed since the education ministry announced plans for a more relevant replacement exam and we are still waiting to see the rolling out of the high school diploma replacement examination. Consequently, thousands of students have graduated from high schools across Jamaica without any form of certification. The fact is the SSC examination was very much relevant. A student with a pass at range 4 or 5 could have used those subjects to matriculate into tertiary level institutions as well as to enter the world of work.
The SSC examinations primarily targeted students of non-traditional high schools who were not at the required level to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams.  Nothing is wrong with having changes; especially since the process of education is constantly evolving. However, we should not have stopped the SSC examination without first implementing a replacement examination. As we approach yet another examination period in the academic year the sad reality is that another cohort of Jamaican students will be leaving various high schools without any form of certification. We have done a grave disservice to countless number of poor people’s children. The Ministry of Education needs to move with a sense of urgency in order to ensure that 2014 is the final year students will be graduating from high schools without having a national examination in place to certify them.
Wayne Campbell
waykam@yahoo.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insecticides, Air Travel And Safety

-
Image
We are not insects, we are human beings. To travel by air is a privilege. Air travel is a costly adventure as well.   Those of us who have been fortunate to travel oftentimes experience some amount of excitement leading up to that moment. This heightened sense of emotion happens to almost all of us irrespective of whether we are a frequent flyer or a first timer. This buzz never goes away regardless of whether you travel economy or first class. However, for some folks there is a sense of nervousness during travel. There are numerous lessons we can learn whenever we travel. For example, our outlook on life is often altered due to the interaction with other peoples and cultures. Once the airplane takes off and you begin to ascend into the clouds, sometimes of altitude unbelievable to those without this experience, one can feel like someone who is imprisoned until your flight lands and you disembark. It is usually at those altitudes that the airline crew informs you that they are going to
Read more

Vessels of Honour: Celestial Treasures

-
Image
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”- Psalm 51:10. Many of us have a skewed understanding of God our creator. In many instances we believe or are led to believe that in order to be used by God we must be pure and sinless. This tainted view undoubtedly also impacts our relationships we have with God. Having such a distorted view of God and what God demands from us oftentimes lead us into disobedience. The same is true concerning the weight of condemnation. It is for this reason why it is critical for us to spend time in the Word of God which is the Bible. We all need to know God for ourselves. We often make excuses to study the Bible, yet, we will spend hours on social media or hours gossiping people’s business. Nowhere is gossiping more pronounced than in the church. The church as we know it is not a place of honesty. Why do I say this? Oftentimes we turn to the church in our moments of weakness and vulnerability yet, the solace and compassion that
Read more

Interrogating Black Fatherhood

-
Image
“What I've realized is that life doesn't count for much unless you're willing to do your small part to leave our children all of our children a better world. Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”- Barack Obama. Fatherhood, especially black fatherhood oftentimes is not as celebrated as it should. As a result we continue to hear of the arguments surrounding my mother who fathered me. There are specific roles concerning the sexes and frankly speaking mothers cannot father children, likewise fathers cannot mother children. Indeed as a society we need to move the discussion away from these examples of oxymoron. This flawed premise has been around so long and unfortunately has become normalized in many societies. However, the time has come for us to have a serious and honest discussion as this argument must be interrogated and replaced with a sense of responsibility. In fact, there is one m
Read more