The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) shares the concern of Minister of Education Fayval Williams about the low take-up of the Government’s summer school programme currently underway.

The Opposition is, however, further concerned that there are no solutions being proposed by the minister to correct these issues that will have long-lasting and grave consequences for our students in particular and our nation in general.

The minister’s initial communication that 9,000 students were registered at the start of the programme should have served as a red flag to the ministry that the current problems were likely. The 9,000 students registered must be taken in the context that the summer school was targeted to both primary and secondary school students, estimated at 440,000. Therefore, this 9,000 represents a mere 2.25 per cent of the cohort.

Additionally, approximately 27,000 students were deemed still missing from school as recently as June 1, 2022 from the 120,000 “unaccounted for” at the height of the novel coronavirus pandemic. If one should assume that all 9,000 students were from either of these categories, the number registered would still be extremely low, standing at 33 per cent or 7.5 per cent, respectively.

We beg the public to note that the vast majority of our students would have suffered some level of learning loss due to the difficulties in education delivery during the pandemic.

Further, if the recent Primary Exit Profile (PEP) results should be used as a yard stick, then, among our boys, 31.5 per cent and 54.7 per cent performed below proficiency in English and mathematics, respectively. In the case of our girls, 14 per cent and 43.3 per cent have performed below proficiency in English and mathematics, respectively. If only the grade six students that were recently tested by PEP represented the category for intervention, no less than 17,307 of them would need engagement.

Additionally, the warnings from the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) that teachers were tired and, by extension, unable (or unwilling) to participate in the summer school programme should have stood as another red flag. However, the Ministry of Education (MOE) decided to force forward despite the calls from the JTA to postpone the summer school programme. Indeed, the teachers’ concerns about the need for rest and recuperation would likely have been exaggerated by the multiple deaths of their colleagues reported in the last year and the delayed completion of the school term.

REASONS FOR FAILURE

Based on what we have observed thus far, the following seem to be the reasons for the current failure being experienced:

1) Lack of engagement of the schools to formulate school-specific summer intervention. This has caused many schools, especially traditional schools, to continue with their own summer schools and not take on the National Summer School Programme.

2) Lack of engagement of the teachers and a refusal to acknowledge the concerns of the JTA has decreased teacher motivation to participate and has denied the ministry of a needed partner.

3) Payments still owed to over 100 teachers and the very late payment of almost 1,000 teachers who participated in the 2021 National Summer School Programme has reduced teachers’ willingness to participate in this year’s summer school.

4) Limited direct communication with parents of children at risk has ignored the cultural realities of our citizens as well as difficulties parents may be facing.

5) Lack of engagement of the general populous to serve as volunteers limits the ministry’s ability to intervene, the extent of its intervention, and the types of intervention possible.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1) With the very minimal take-up of the National Summer School Programme, particularly by those in greatest need of face-to-face intervention, it is the opinion of the Opposition that the MOE must consider further summer engagement of Jamaican students who suffered extensive learning loss. The Opposition suggests that a second cohort should be considered for August 2022.

2) The MOE should engage the general society with the aim of attracting no less than 30,000 volunteers to participate in a telephone tutorial programme directed mainly at reading, literacy, and numeracy for those performing below their levels.

3) The MOE should engage the council of churches to get their assistance in creating environments of study in close proximity to communities, especially for students that choose the online methodology.

4) The Government of Jamaica should divert the $750 million “capital clean-up” portion of the recently announced $4 billion to the provision of a lunch and transportation subsidy to students as encouragement to participate.

5) The MOE should consider a 50 per cent pre-payment to teachers who volunteer to participate, thus reducing the anxiety over Government not paying after completion.

6) The MOE should immediately engage the JTA to discuss concerns teachers may have and solutions, which may include the delayed restart of the September term, if possible.

7) The MOE should engage the political directorate by providing the names and addresses of those who are deemed to need intervention and who may be in need of further encouragement.

8)The MOE should consider allowing students to attend summer school at institutions other than that to which they are registered.

In closing, the Opposition believes that the Government’s lack of imagination and limited willingness to engage the stakeholders has impacted the Government in general and the MOE in particular. Notwithstanding the gravity of the situation, the need for urgent and immediate intervention demands corrective measures be taken and continued efforts be made.

As a result of the pandemic, it is reasonable for one to assume that this and indeed most summers in the near future will be used for student engagement as we continue the national effort to mitigate and reverse the negative impacts of learning loss.

Damion Crawford is the People’s National Party’s spokesperson on education.