EDUCATION is a valuable investment and taxpayers put about $80 billion into it; some $55 billion of this goes to teaching, and the balance everything else. Teaching is the oldest job — God was the first teacher, other jobs came and lobbied to get protection for self and those served as professions, but teaching with godlike status and a union did not.

As priests came with Columbus, to teach was God’s work, and when the Second Jamaicans took this rock for God and King it cemented this status. This is the first century in which the secular rules the sacred in teaching. You can’t tell? Look around. Don’t blame poverty as we were poorer then; values were lived, not studied. With the underpinning of faith gone, the only assurance society has is for teaching to be a profession. Despite scandal, why do you think everyone wants to go to Catholic school? To teach is just a job; lotto scam, fraud, sex scandal are all passé; many with outré values, atheists now teach. But the values of my engineer, accountant are his affair; those of my kid’s teacher are my business. We want no Pickersgill committee to vet acolytes, but their personal sign-on to a voluntary, actionable professional code protects kids, teachers and is a parent’s assurance.

My peeps reported on a media note of an acting principal’s alledged sexual dalliance with an unnamed man. Yet, to them, it was not news, but a teachable moment. The subject had salacious images on his phone. These came to the attention of his employers and they then started a board probe, but were pre-empted by his resignation — end of story? Not quite, say my peeps (some are teachers) and they dilated on the collateral and consequential issues as follows:

In transforming education, an agreed cross-party issue is to get value for the $55b. A sum larger than the cash-producing tourism, STEM, industry, and culture ministries combined. The new Acts — some in process for a decade — Teaching Council, Education, the Code, plus MOE discipline are keys to education quality and may yield a 50 per cent gain in readiness. If kids get the full 190 days of face-to-face classes (36 per cent is lost) due by law, the gain can be higher. Take the $1b for books — after years of pressure group stress a third is now freed for use elsewhere. If we are resolute good things can happen. We will still spend $55b on teaching, no teacher loses — some may get performance pay; quality, readiness and exam results rise sharply. Everyone wins.

We must build respect for teaching; values are not passé and hetero/homo sex crime is unacceptable, but the few must not be the image. What a lesson!

My peeps used the acting principal’s sex photo album to raise some issues viz: Should teaching be a profession? Yes! They say the JTC Act can be the rock for teacher and students alike — protect kids, defend good teachers and disbar rogues. We give our kids over to them with varied quirks, yet we expect all kids to emerge wise and imbued with values. Crazy! So, what of this ‘incident’? The subject took an option in his contract — resignation. Is his union happy? The board? Will teaching be more admired? Should JTC, defender of the profession, have power to sanction? Is his exit the end? Is this a victimless crime? What of closure for them? Who does victim tracing? Peeps say some victims are young teachers — abused, exploited, denied benefits. Should the JTC have power to offer protection, psychiatric services, etc, for teacher-on-teacher abuse? Peeps want a 1-800-ABUSE hotline at JTC for teachers and students, as to wait for hard evidence may be too late to save some poor kid or starry-eyed young teacher.

So a resignation is offered; who has jurisdiction? To whom can a person refer but his professional body? Should the JTC originate even with no complainant? Who preserves the institutional memory? The incident is not on record so it goes under the radar to Back Of The Beyond High. Should JTC host a data bank on members, triangulate and harvest data, even informal sources? Many know but once “it buss out”, too late. A board says, “He interviewed well, is qualified, no police record, we hired him.” Should sign-off by JTC be mandated prior to a job offer? Bankers do a “fit & proper”, but not teachers; is money prized above our kids? Can credit bureaux data help? Does a gambling debt bespeak character? A principal gave himself a $2-m loan from the tuck shop and his bookie knew long before his chairman. What of personal privacy? Data mining may be crucial!

What of other victims? What of associates? Is this police work only or does JTC hold a watching brief? So, were codes breached, may the police jail him? Children are our future, where do we go with this?

This MOE legislative agenda will deepen transformation, halt backsliding by officers and get us value. Teaching as a profession via a Jamaica Teaching Council won’t end misconduct (ask the Medical Council and weep) but if it reforms appeals where a troika of counsel and teacher’s union rule, praise God!

Over 90 per cent of cases fail on technicalities. The letter got to him late so incompetents are still in a school — case closed. A campus should be sacred space, refuge for student and teacher.

Parents, elections are in the air, and you outvote all interest groups, so get your MP to act on these measures ASAP. Bother him or her and keep their feet to the fire. Your kids are worth it. Stay conscious, my friend!

Dr Franklin Johnston is a strategist, project manager and advises the minister of education. franklinjohnstontoo@gmail.com