The society has repeatedly heard the calls for men to do better. Unfortunately, there is no national consensus regarding education in general or boys’ education in particular, hence our present dilemma.

While the ever-widening gender gap concerning post-secondary and higher education should be cause for national concern, we should not be surprised that we have reached this juncture. Regrettably, we live in a society in which boys who display school smarts are often ridiculed as effeminate by peers and even adults in areas where the academic excellence of males is typically devalued.

At the recent University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC) graduation Professor Haldane Davies, president of UCC, highlighted his concerns surrounding the disproportionate number of males to females at the institution. Of the 774 individuals who graduated from UCC, 80 per cent were women, highlighting the continuing failure of male students to catch up in numbers to their female counterparts at tertiary institutions. Professor Davies added that in 2020, 22 per cent of the graduates from UCC were men — 88 males and 308 females — while in 2021, 20 per cent were men — 117 males and 470 females.

However, UCC is not unique in this respect. Of the almost 18,000 students enrolled at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, over two-thirds are women. A similar picture of male disproportionate enrolment occurs at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), with its approximately 12,000 students. Apart from St Joseph’s and Shortwood Teachers’ colleges, the same gender gap applies.

Needless to say, the problems of the ever-increasing gender gap at the tertiary level has its genesis at the primary level at which girls constantly outperform boys in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination. Prior to the introduction of PEP, the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) also saw girls outperforming boys in the various subject areas. This underperformance of our boys continues at the secondary level, and is evident in the results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations which shows girls doing better. The dropout rate is also higher for boys at this level. Interestingly, even in co-education institutions more girls than boys graduate.

However, it is at the tertiary level that the gender gap in education is amplified and on display for all to see. The issue at hand is rooted in our gendered approach to socialisation. Social and cultural factors have influenced, and continue to do so, the various ways in which masculinity is defined not only in the Jamaican society but societies all over. Masculinity and what it means to be a man does impact on the education of our boys. Many boys view the school experience as feminine. Boys’ life choices are severely circumscribed by the dominant notions of masculinity competing with “multiple masculinities” in the society.

The privileging afforded to the male gender has significantly contributed to what some may view as the unhealthy and undesirable state of masculinity in the Jamaican society.

Interrogating Male Underperformance and Underachievement

Historically, there is the tendency for the society to narrowly define and interrogate gender solely as it relates to women’s issues and this is problematic. Interestingly, those socially acceptable male behaviours that are often contrasting with academic achievement are also the traits that uphold male dominance in patriarchal societies. In fact, there is no need to shift the focus from girls’ education; however, we must be honest in acknowledging that boys’ underperformance and underachievement does not run counter to the benefits of male privilege; that is, men continue to do better than women in the labour market and leadership positions despite lower academic achievements.

The gender gap regarding tertiary level studies has been widening over the decades. Men have a different attitude from women to higher education. One element of the discourse that must be included is the fact that boys learn differently. Boys are often tactile learners and, unfortunately, the classroom experience and education journey is often toxic for them. The intense discipline and sacrifice associated with education in general and tertiary level studies in particular are oftentimes far removed from our males due to how they have been socialised. Additionally, the society sends conflicting views, along gendered lines, regarding how success is defined. As a society steeped in materialism the message is clear, especially to our boys and men, that they must acquire all the trappings of success very early and by whatever means.

We need to create safe spaces for boys at our schools and engage them in meaningful discussions about notions of masculinity and get from them ideas and suggestions which could be implemented to address their issues. The society also needs to revisit how we ascribe successes to those endeavours for which education is not necessarily a factor. The (undervalued) social currency which we now use to judge success needs to be revalued. We need to revisit the education system with a macho view and “defeminise” it.

We need to view the issue of male underperformance and underachievement with a sense of urgency and dispatch, if not, we are going to continue to witness the spread of a deviant strand of hyper masculinity sweeping across the education system. This reconstruction of masculinity is already manifesting itself in all our schools.

As the society grapples with the socio-cultural issue regarding the widening gender gap at the tertiary level, we must be mindful that the solutions must take on a multisectoral approach and must include a revisiting of the National Standards Curriculum and the education system in general.

As we approach another academic year, we are required to reset the button concerning how our boys are socialised in order to close the gender gap in the education system. The time to act is now.

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and gender issues. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or waykam@yahoo.com.