AN end to the shift system is among the recommendations of the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) to help Papine High transition from an unsatisfactory school to one that is well run and which meets the academic and social needs of students.

“Inadequate school space necessitates the retention of the shift system. This negatively impacts learning by limiting teaching hours, the provision of extra-curricular activities and after-school support,” the NEI said in its June 2010 report on the St Andrew-based institution’s performance.

According to the inspectorate, the Ministry of Education must, therefore, act “with urgency to remove the shift system”.

It was a sentiment echoed more recently by Paul Adams, the new president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), who pointed to the need to remove the system from all primary and secondary schools.

“The system has failed miserably; it has robbed hundreds of thousands of children of a proper education,” he told the annual general meeting of the JTA, held in Ocho Rios last month.

But the abolition of the system does not appear to be on the Government’s list of priorities this academic year, given the cuts to the ministry’s budget.

The estimates of expenditure presented in April reveal that the 2011/12 budget was $70.5 billion — down from the 2010-11 estimates of $72.1 billion and $74 billion in the previous financial year.

The cuts have forced the postponement of the construction of two new schools and trimmed the budget of the critical education transformation programme by some $400 million.

Still, Education Minister Andrew Holness has indicated that government intends to build 15 new schools over the short term to help ease overcrowding in some schools, which currently necessitates the shift system.

However, for the moment at least, that promise does not help Papine High where up to last year 81 teachers catered to between 1,100 and 1,200-plus students in an institution built to accommodate 600.

The NEI has, in the interim, also recommended that the school, established at its present site in 1959:

* ensures that leadership at all levels creates a climate of high expectations and improved outcomes for all students;

* develops a broader range of teaching and learning strategies that engage students, especially in English and mathematics and include both collaborative work and problem solving;

* identifies and tracks students’ differing levels of achievement, so that planning and teaching supports different levels of ability and learning styles; and

* develops a strategy addressing weak areas highlighted by the inspectorate’s report, including low student achievement.

The recommendations came on the back of a raft of weaknesses identified by the NEI, which assessed the school between April 20 and 22 last year. Unsatisfactory management and leadership were listed.

“Expectations of students are low and there is some poor teaching, leading to low achievement. Whilst senior management has made several significant improvements in recent years, instructional leadership has had insufficient effect on the quality of teaching and many students underperform,” the report said.

In the 2008 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams, for example, of the 46 students (34 females and 12 males) who sat mathematics, only two passed — and then only with a grade three. Of the 83 (60 females and 23 males) who sat English language, only 21 of them passed — two of them with a grade two and the others with a grade three.

“Self-evaluation has not addressed performance sufficiently. The school has yearly action plans, but no development plan and many staff seem to remain unaware of their poor performance,” the report added.

The NEI also noted that for most teachers, “their knowledge of how best to teach the subject

and how students learn is unsatisfactory”.

“Teaching methods are unsatisfactory due to an over-reliance in teacher-directed lessons with too narrow a range of learning activities and little differentiation,” the inspectorate said. “Assessment is unsatisfactory and is not always used to guide teaching. Students’ learning is unsatisfactory. Students have little opportunity to engage in collaborative work or problem solving and many students are not motivated,” it noted.

However, all is not lost for Papine High. According to the report, personal development of students is satisfactory, as are the human resources.

“Most students behave well, although some misbehave in unstimulating lessons or when unsupervised. Many students understand the concept of national identity and are aware of the local traditions and culture, Jamaica’s economic position, and have some environmental awareness,” the NEI revealed.

“There are sufficient and appropriately qualified teachers who are deployed in their areas of specialisation. Vocational teachers have had additional Human Employment and Resource Training (HEART) and Vocational Training and Development Institute training, and most teachers are trained in the use of IT (information technology),” added the report on the school, which is chaired by HEART Trust/NTA’s executive director Dr Carolyn Hayle.

There are, too, the NEI revealed, “satisfactory arrangements for health and safety and for students’ well-being with mentoring provided to troubled students”.

“Most teachers are caring, although some teachers speak disrespectfully to students, particularly to the younger ones, and a few teachers are excessively familiar with students at times,” the report said.

“The school employs a dean of discipline (and) the guidance counselling department, with the help of a guidance committee, organises training for teachers to assist them in understanding student behaviour and issues. Linkages formed with institutions such as UTech (University of Technology) and UWI (University of the West Indies) facilitate career counselling and mentorship to deviant and troubled students,” added the 34-page document.

To arrive at its findings, the NEI observed some 89 lessons and completed 14 interviews with members of staff, the governing body and parents, in addition to two interviews with students.

They also relied on 1,191 completed questionnaires — 811 by students, 329 by parents and 51 by teachers.

The inspection indicators used were:

* leadership qualities;

* vision, direction and guidance;

* culture and ethos;

* instructional leadership; and

* impact on standards and progress.

Development of relationships with staff; accountability; and school information and document management rounded out the list of indicators used to assess the school.