ZACCA. the focus should be on attracting highly intellectual professionals to the teaching profession

MONTEGO BAY, ST JAMES - Deputy chairman of the Sandals group Chris Zacca is advocating that teachers be paid more, but made it clear that the increases should be tied to performance.

"We must find a way to pay our teachers more and link it to their performance," Zacca said in his keynote address to the ninth annual Sandals Community Scholarship Awards at Sandals Montego Bay last Friday. "There must be a way for teachers to accept some sort of performance-based pay if they are to, in exchange, receive a wage which compensates them adequately."

According to Zacca, the focus should be on attracting highly intellectual professionals to the teaching profession, instead of concentrating on the flaws of a handful of teachers currently in the system.

"It is pointless focusing on the shortcomings of a few teachers without making the entire teaching profession attractive again so that it can once again win the brightest and the best into that profession," Zacca said.

The idea of performance-based pay for the island's nearly 20,000 public school teachers has been floated by the Government for some years now. It was given new currency late last year when a Task Force on Education, appointed by the prime minister, included the proposal in its report tabled in Parliament on December 14. The report set out how to achieve a world-class education system that will be able to generate human capital and produce skills necessary for Jamaicans to compete globally.

But the Jamaica Teachers' Association has, on several occasions, stated its opposition to the proposal, arguing that it would be difficult to fairly assess the performance of teachers.

The JTA also contends that a performance appraisal system was already available to that body and could be used to assess teachers.

On Friday, Zacca suggested that the government should spearhead the initiative, but that the private sector should share some of the responsibility.

"It should be a joint effort by the private sector and the Government," said Zacca. "But it has to be led by the government."

Zacca had framed his comments against the background of what he described as the terrible conditions under which teachers worked.

"I want to salute our hard working teachers. Without exception they work under the most horrendous conditions and without adequate compensation," he said.

Twenty-three students from rural Jamaica received scholarships totalling $800,000 from Sandals Resorts International at the function.

Four awardees were first-time recipients; two were receiving scholarships for the second time, five for a third time, seven for the fourth time and there were four fifth-time recipients.

One student, Amoya Roxborough, received a special scholarship to pursue her 'A' Levels. Shantal Jarrett, who attends Westwood High School in Trelawny, was named the top female performer, while 15-year-old Oracabessa High student Zadok Howard was the overall top performer.

Last year, scholarships valued at $700,000 were presented to 21 students. These students were in or about to enter high schools after being successful in the GSAT examinations, but faced the possibility of not going to school because of financial constraints. Sandals undertook to assist the recipients to obtain their secondary school education, providing they maintain a B-plus average, conduct themselves in a disciplined way and show continuous improvement.

Zadok Howard, who was receiving a scholarship for the third consecutive year, noted that it would be extremely difficult for him to attend high school without the financial assistance from Sandals Resorts International.

"I feel very good, I feel like I am someone now. I feel very special, very, very special," a beaming Howard told the Observer.

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