Education minister Maxine Henry-Wilson yesterday refused to be drawn into a discussion about recent calls for the island’s teachers to be licensed.

“I can’t comment on the subject of licensing – that is something that will come out of our discussions,” she said during a press briefing at Jamaica House to clarify issues arising from her sectoral debate presentation in the House of Representatives.

On Tuesday, Dr Dennis Minott, author of a recent study on CXC performance in high schools, recommended that teachers be licensed. He also suggested that master principals be selected from among top performing schools to pass on some of their valuable skills and know-how to high schools that are struggling in the CXC exams.

In his speech to the Public Relations Society of Jamaica at the Hilton Hotel, Dr Minott observed that a common factor that was evident among the top performing high schools such as Immaculate, Wolmers Girls and Campion College, was that all their principals had received graduate or postgraduate training at institutions outside of the country.

He promised a future study that would take a closer look at principals, the type of training they had, and what strategies they employed to effect success in their schools.

“In the next study I am proposing to. study the (masters and bachelors degrees that principals) bring in.,” he said. “I am not doubting that they are genuine degrees, that is not the issue. I am worried about the thing called academic in-breeding. If everybody comes from the same source with degrees, chances are that if there are errors or shortcomings in a good number of them, it would be common to most. More than anything we should take a hard look at what our universities are doing.”

There are additional similarities among high-performing schools, he said. They tended to be clean and well kept, quiet, orderly and disciplined. They had few or no vendors near their premises, extra curricular activities were many and central to the life of the school, and staff room and corridors were usually empty during teaching sessions. Some examples were Westwood High, Hampton High and Munro, all of which had a B grade in the analysis.

“I believe there needs to be a special intervention to replicate what is happening in those boarding schools,” he said.

The scientist and founder of AQUEST was in the news recently for his analysis of the performance of fifth graders in 148 high schools across the country. The controversial study ranked schools based on their percentage passes in 16 subjects in last year’s CXC exams and the level of screening employed.

Dr Minott, in a scathing criticism of the practices of many of the lower performing schools, called for an end to the practice of screening students which prevents many students from sitting the exams each year.

He likened the education system to a car engine which needed a ‘complete engine job’ rather than simply ‘putting in oil’ or ‘tinkering with screws’ .

A major overhaul would require greater emphasis to be placed on early childhood education and for that he commended education minister Maxine Henry-Wilson on the setting up of the early childhood commission.

Although rural schools, especially those in region one, outperformed many touted Corporate Area high schools, he said many girls along the North Coast are at a ‘tremendous disadvantage’ in not having access to sixth form or university.

“Along the entire North Coast, starting from St Mary right along to Westmoreland. women tend to be prepared to be entertainment coordinators,” he said.

He suggested that heads of regional education offices be made accountable for the performance of schools in their charge and called for a unified grading system to be used by all schools to show students performance in the internal exams.

He also urged that there be 95 per cent enrollment at secondary schools with 100 per cent enrollment in primary and at least 95 per cent at the early childhood level.

At the tertiary level, Dr Minott suggested that all colleges be first liberal arts schools with a teaching department. This would remedy the business of curriculum content, he said.