THE Ministry of Education has dismissed suggestions that male principals are better at instilling discipline in schools than their female counterparts.

Chief education officer in the ministry, Jasper Lawrence, told the Sunday Observer that female teachers have proven themselves equally capable of instilling discipline as their males. In fact, he said that women have been outdoing men in the education system.

“All the research and surveys have shown that some of the best run schools in this country are headed by women and many don’t even have a male teacher on staff. I’m not saying we don’t have outstanding male principals, but as a group our women have been doing much better,” Lawrence said.

The education officer was speaking against the background of comments by parents of Students at Boogie All-Age, who clamoured to have veteran educator Junior Collie appointed principal of the school.

A demonstration against the appointment of Pauline McCalla as principal forced the closure of the school earlier this month. The parents argued that since his employment last September, Collie had improved discipline and increased attendance at the school, located in a small farming district in north-east St Elizabeth. They insisted that a male was needed to maintain discipline at the school.

Collie was acting as a classroom teacher at the school last term, while his wife Patricia Collie was acting as principal.

It was not the first time that parents had objected to a woman being appointed principal of a school. Last August, St George’s College – a traditionally all-boys high school in Kingston – was thrust into the spotlight when Margaret Campbell was appointed as its first female principal.

St George’s had only the previous year admitted girls to the school, when its sixth form became co-educational.

Regarding the appointment of the principal at Boogie, Lawrence said due process was closely adhered to. He also said Junior Collie could not be appointed principal since he had not even applied for the job.

“The media got it all wrong, he (Collie) was never interviewed for the job as principal,” he said.

Explaining the process involved in the appointment of a principal, Lawrence said the vacant position must first be advertised in the press, noting the classification of the school and when the new principal would be required to take up the position.

Applicants would be invited to apply to the school chairman, who, along with the school board, would short-list the candidates and set up interviews.

“The interviews would be conducted by the board in accordance with the education regulations. They then make recommendations to the ministry through its regional office. Performance evaluations are done on the recommended applicants, which are returned to the Teachers’ Services Commission (TSC),” Lawrence added.

The TSC – which has broad representation from the church, civil society and the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) – then examines the file and makes a recommendation to the ministry, Lawrence said.

The minister then considers the recommendation and advises the school board of her decision. The board, in turn, communicates the decision to the selected applicant, as well as to those applicants who are unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the heads of two groups representing school principals in Jamaica are calling for greater consultation with Stakeholders when new principals are being appointed.

President of the Association of Principals and Vice-Principals Alphansus Davis said it was important for school boards to consult fully with parents before appointing principals.

“If the parents say as principal you are doing a good job, they are spot on, and if they say you are doing a bad job, they are spot on. Many times, these boards make decisions without the PTA representative. I am quite certain if the PTA rep was involved in the decision we would not have so many demonstrations,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Davis, who is also principal of Spaldings High in Clarendon, urged the ministry of Education to re-examine the procedure.

“I get the feeling sometimes that the process is so subjective, it’s not funny,” he said.

Nadine Molloy, president of the Association of Principals of High Schools, feels that while the process of appointment of principals could be more transparent, the system works well in most cases.

“There is an argument for more transparency. I don’t see why that couldn’t be done if it’s not breaching any confidentiality code,” the Buff Bay High School principal said.

She noted that sometimes parents demonstrate even though they are unaware of what goes into the selection on a certain candidate for the job.

“Sometimes people are not privy to all the details that obtain in a decision. Some things a layman may not see as important are very important,” Molloy said.

But Lawrence noted that some parents cry foul when decisions are not in their favour.

“In many instances, even when the parents are adequately represented on the board, but have different agendas, they say they were not involved or informed, if the decision is not consistent with their own desires,” the education officer said.

editorial@jamaicaobserver.com