Don't Rush Into School Zoning

-
The decision by the Ministry of Education to place students who sit the annual Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) closer to their respective home as of 2015 is most commendable. However, we need to examine all the pros and cons of such a move before it becomes the general policy.
The placing of students in schools in their geographical area should only come after the state can guarantee minimum standards for all our schools. The education ministry’s intended zoning policy clearly has its benefits, one of which is to curtail the long distances some students travel daily to and from school.
In many Jamaican families, there is a culture of sending their children to specific schools, in keeping with the tradition within such families. Therefore, placing a student in a school closer to his/her home may not necessarily be in the best interest of the student.
DO NOT LIMIT THE EXPERIENCE
Students who live in depressed communities should not be placed in any high school in their community.  The experiences of such students are limited to begin with and when they are placed in schools in the areas in which they live such students do not benefit as much from that wider experiential mix that they would have garnered had they been placed outside of the comfort zone of their community. We should also be careful that this policy is not viewed as a discriminatory system since that most of the better performing schools are located in areas where the income levels are higher than the income levels of the communities where the lower performing schools are sited. 
The notion of failing schools is not only a public perception issue; it is a fact which is documented by the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) Unit of the Ministry of Education which is mandated to inspect all schools.
According to the 2014 National Education Inspectorate (NEI) report more than sixty per cent (60%) of the country’s primary and secondary schools are failing in their education delivery to the nation’s children. With more than half of all our schools failing the rush to get into a good school remains extremely high. This report is very troubling and provides a sound basis for parents and guardians to do all within their powers to ensure that their children are placed at a high performing school even if it means travelling long distances.
The distance that students travel to and from school cannot be the only deciding factor in determining what is in the best interest of student.  The Ministry of Education needs to embark on a consultative approach on this matter before signing off on this issue.

Wayne Campbell
waykam@yahoo.com
Twitter:@WayneCamo

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 goin...
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