Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Leighton Johnson says the current funding provided to educational institutions is inadequate and a new approach, in the form of a per capita ratio that examines the money required to educate each child, is needed to address the issue.

Johnson made the recommendation on Tuesday during the media launch of the JTA’s 60th anniversary celebrations at the union’s head office at Church Street, downtown Kingston.

“It would look like our education is being adequately funded when compared to other jurisdictions, because you will find, perhaps, other jurisdictions spending approximately the same amount as it compares to percentage of gross domestic product (GDP),” said Johnson.

“But when you look at what that percentage of GDP equates to, in relation to other jurisdictions that we are always compared to, you’ll see that Jamaica is woefully, woefully, woefully behind in terms of matching dollar for dollar,” he argued.

In the 2023/24 budget education received $142.9 billion, the largest share of the budget allocated for recurrent programmes outside of debt payments and compensation of employees.

Of that amount, $9.3 billion went to school nutrition support, which includes $7 billion for the provision of breakfast and cooked lunch for Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) beneficiaries, reflecting a 66 per cent to 100 per cent increase in daily lunch rates from $110/$150 to $250.

The nutrition support also included $1 billion through Nutrition Products Limited for the production and distribution of breakfast and snacks for students, $258 million in grants to designated schools to facilitate the preparation of meals under the breakfast and cooked lunch programmes and $119 million in cash grants to designated schools to assist in the maintenance of school canteens.

The Ministry of Education also received $380 million to cover the cost of school transportation to PATH beneficiaries, while $15.3 billion was budgeted as subvention for The University of the West Indies and University of Technology, Jamaica, reflecting an increased provision of $1 billion to each institution to offset increased operating costs, JIS added.

Additionally, $2 billion was allocated for books and education materials, a 100 per cent increase, and $1.5 billion for information and communications technology service, including $1 billion for the procurement of laptops for teachers.

On Tuesday, Johnson said that for more than nine years, the education ministry was allocated between $17,000 and $19,000 per child a year at the secondary level and approximately $2,500 per child per year at the primary level.

“Now, when you compare that in terms of US dollars, it [decreases] to a little bit of money; a very little bit of money. And we are saying that at this dispensation, with inflation, with the rising costs of goods and services, the rising costs of material and equipment, then there needs to be a significant difference in the approach that it takes to fund these institutions,” he stressed.

He argued that the ministry needs to pump more funding into recruiting specialist teachers to assist students who require additional support.

“Students who are placed in the upgraded high schools, students in pathways two and three, they require additional support, and these schools sometimes need additional reading teachers, additional literacy specialists, to ensure that these students can come up to the mark,” he said.

“In many respects, schools have to do their own fund-raising to secure the services of these reading specialists as these individuals are not on the school’s establishment, and though the ministry will indicate that there is a facility to accommodate additional staff, we find that in many instances schools have to rely on their own resources to fund these positions,” he added.

The JTA president also argued that it should be included in the Jamaica Teaching Council Bill that educators be compensated for personal time and holidays spent on professional development.

He stressed that the association is not against professional development; however, the use of teachers’ personal time and holidays for professional development seminars deprives them of rest.

“We feel that there are some sessions that are being held by the Jamaica Teaching Council, especially those sessions that are held sometimes during the holiday periods and sometimes after school hours, and we believe that if we’re engaging in professional development, it must be done at a time that considers the teacher,” said Johnson.

“Teachers have lives, they have children, and in many instances what we find is, because of the nature of the job, they have to extend themselves beyond the work day, and sometimes their own children are neglected because teachers are either engaged in professional development sessions or doing activities that cater to other children,” he said.

This, Johnson said, is needed to ensure that teachers have time to rest and rejuvenate so they can be effective in their positions.