AMID the ongoing debate about high school sports and player recruitment, I had the privilege of visiting two schools at different ends of the achievement spectrum and met two former Manning Cup players. Both were from the same community, both seemed very bright individuals, and both are outstanding players.

One from a top 50 high school (based on the educatejamaica.org ranking) will travel to the United States to accept a university scholarship, while the other — from a bottom 50 school — has no such prospect, no current job, and limited options for the future.

As long as the achievement gaps exist between schools, there will be more stories like this. Who cares if the coach recruited the first athlete to win? It meant that he got a shot at a decent education and a life-changing opportunity. The irony is, he will now travel to a foreign country, compete with other “imported” players for a spot on a team run by a coach whose job depends on how many games he wins. He will be grateful for the lessons in competition that he learned in high school.

It is safe to say that the player did not displace an otherwise deserving student while in high school. Virtually all of Jamaica’s traditional high schools are operating above their designated capacity. If we took out all the athletes, the schools would still be over capacity. In fact, for every athlete that was “imported”, two to three non-athletes entered through the back door. Where is the outrage here? There is no doubt that both of these players would have been better off going to a sports academy. Presently, however, there are no such academies in Jamaica. We thus need to level the academic playing field, where students are not limited by the schools they attend.

To blame the coaches or the athletes for what ails our schools is a classic example of shooting from the hip. To justify that stance with statements like “there is almost no sports in schools in the countries rated as having the best education systems in the world” is simply nonsense.

I played soccer once a week with players from South Korea (rated top five by the Programme for International Student Assessment, PISA, for many years). I asked them if soccer is big in high schools in Korea. The answer: “Huge! If you can play soccer, the coaches can pull strings to get you in.”

In Japan (top 5 PISA rank), getting into high school is extremely competitive, with students attending lessons seven days per week to try to get into a top-ranked high school. Yet, children who are outstanding athletes are scouted by high schools and offered suisens (entrance recommendations) for sports.

In Canada (top 10), and not to mention the USA (top 20), sports is embedded in the fabric of high schools. They all see sports as a benefit to the school and they all recruit.

It is also a well-known secret that girls have been outperforming boys in schools at every level beyond primary school for decades. That none of the traditional boys’ schools are ranked in the top 10 should come as no surprise.

A recent study published by the American Psychological Association, entitled ‘Gender Difference in Scholastic Achievements’, highlighted this discrepancy. Data was taken from several representative countries, including Norway, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Turkey, Taiwan, the UK, and a number of African countries. The study concluded by making the following statement: “The findings that female advantage in high school mark has remained stable across the years in the data retrieved (from 1914 to 2011) deserves emphasis, as it contradicts claims of a recent crisis in boy school achievement.” In the UK, following the 2013 GCSE results, the Government was told to commission a study into the widened achievement gap between boys and girls. Sports was not implicated in any of these reports.

Indeed, there are some common denominators among countries credited for having the best education systems. Based on assessments from Pearson and Kaplan (testing /test prep giants), there is a direct correlation between a country’s educational rank and the following:

— emphasis on hiring the best candidates as teachers;

— respect for the profession;

— a country’s GDP (level of poverty) and the amount spent per student by the state.

The teachers will also add that parental involvement is critical.

The majority of Jamaica’s schools are failing. We all knew that well before educatejamaica.org and, more recently, when the Ministry of Education confirmed it. Athletics has nothing to do with it.

Let us not waste any more time debating issues at the periphery of this national crisis. Let us use our collective energies to address the systemic inadequacies of our school system.

In an earlier article I called for the abolition of the shift system in schools. The overwhelming majority of these schools are in the bottom 50. The ministry needs to speed up the pace on this. Additionally, we should increase the entrance requirements for teachers’ colleges; mandate teacher-continuing education for the adoption of national/international best practices into the classrooms; treat the teachers as professionals and with respect. As parents we can become volunteers in the schools, join the PTA, or mentor a student. We also need to commend the Ministry of Education for the transparency with which they are addressing the problem of failing schools.