WESLEY Barrett, the chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, and the man who pioneered several programmes that changed the face of education in Jamaica, goes on pre-retirement leave on March 8.

Barrett, who turns 60 in August, is stepping down after 31 years in the public service.

His departure comes at a time when the ministry begins a major overhaul of the education system. However, he told the Observer on Monday that he wants to make way for others.

“I think there are capable persons in the ministry and it’s my own philosophy that you must make way for the younger ones. Many of the officers are well prepared for the task at hand,” he said.

He said, too, that he wanted to put more time and effort into developing several programmes which he started over the last 10 years. One of them is the Jamaica Association for Distance and Open Learning (JADOL) which he founded in 2000. The programme, he said, was started out of a desire to see the expansion of distance education, especially students at the primary and secondary levels. This is one area he hopes his successor and the ministry will pursue.

” I would really urge the country to make the investment in the technology that would enable us to deliver education at a distance. It is already happening at the tertiary level but there are huge possibilities at the primary and secondary level,” said the educator.

Barrett was born and grew up in Green Valley, St Elizabeth in what he describes, as “very humble beginnings” at a time when “education was the route out of poverty”. Of a total of nine siblings, he along with six others remain as educators. Barrett himself taught for two years in St Elizabeth before taking up the job as principal of Kilmarnock All Age in that parish.

After graduating from the Mico Teachers’ College, he went to the University of the West Indies where he earned a first degree in Mathematics and Economics and later a Masters in Mathematics and Science Education.

Barrett now sits on several education committees, including that of the Caribbean Examinations Council.

He is the chairman of the 17-member Association of Caribbean Chief Education Officers, which almost a decade ago, sought regionally, an extension of the school year to 200 days, modelling parts of East Asia.

Jamaica’s school year now consists of 190 days, and Barrett said some days could be devoted to teacher upgrading with an expansion of the school year.

Barrett named one of his biggest achievement as the “Competency Shelter”, which each year gives sixth graders an opportunity to upgrade their numeracy and literary skills so they can perform better in resits of the Grade Six Achievement Test.

“Many of them (students) progressed so well that they succeeded in the exams and got places in the traditional high schools.”

Among his other achievements are:

. The establishment of literacy centres at both the Bethlehem and Moneague teachers colleges to train specialist teachers in English Language and literacy. The first set of 60 specialist teachers graduated from the colleges last year.

. Leading the initiative to establish a set of educational standards for primary and secondary schools in Language,

Mathematics and Science; and

. Chairing the decentralization committee which, about five years ago, divided the functions of the ministry across six regional offices and provided teachers easier access to the services of the ministry.

Barrett told the Observer that his stance in the ministry, over the years, has been uncompromising and professional, regardless of which government is at the helm. He has also been known to be outspoken and even critical at times of the decisions and activities of the ministry.

“I don’t expect people to always agree with me. On the other hand, I don’t always agree with what everyone says. I value having an independent mind.”