Dear Editor,

It is most unfortunate that Opposition spokesman on education Senator Damion Crawford’s proposed one per cent increase in general consumption tax (GCT) to fund education has become so politicised.

Members of the Jamaica Labour Party have sought to brand the proposal as “wicked” and only seeking to burden society with additional expense, while the People’s National Party has sought to distance itself from the proposal. Quite frankly it speaks to how myopic and short-sighted many of our leaders are in their thinking and the level of importance they place on education.

According to Senator Crawford, this one per cent increase would result in an increase of up to $64,000 per child in school.

A study entitled ‘Financing Secondary Education in Jamaica: The Real Operational Cost For the Typical School’ was conducted in 2019 by a group of erudite educators. That study found that at the secondary level, the unit cost to educate a child at the time was close to $87,000. Therefore, Senator Crawford’s suggestion would bring the cost to fund a child within range of this figure, given the fact that the Government currently provides $17,000 per child at the high school and $2,500 per child at the primary level. The last time schools received any increase in grants was back in 2016. Since then, aggregate inflation has increased to 49 per cent. This invariably means that schools are being called upon to do more with 49 per cent less.

Whilst research on the unit cost to educate a child at the early childhood and primary levels is lacking, the Orlando Patterson report has pointed to the fact that these areas are woefully underfunded. The unfortunate reality is that at all levels many schools, teachers, and even departments have to engage in fund-raising activities to help fund school operations, including purchasing resources for teaching and learning.

Many primary schools are in a deplorable state. Blackboards still separate many classrooms, up to three children are still sitting on benches, and poor ventilation and termite infestation plague many primary schools. It is also not uncommon for primary school teachers to have to fork up money to purchase charts, markers, and other materials for their classrooms.

The leadership of the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) has expressed that it will be reviewing the current funding arrangements for our schools. That review has not even begun. One gets the distinct impression that the MOEY is dragging its feet in moving to treat the issue of proper funding for our schools. In the words of a former Jamaica Teachers’ Association president, “The working condition of the teacher is the learning condition of the child.”

One of the critical things that is absent from the discourse around Transforming Education for National Development (TREND) is how do we adequately fund the transformation of education. The silence of the prime minister and the minister of finance as it relates to funding TREND is deafening. Mona School of Business estimates the cost to fund TREND to be $166 billion in the first seven years and $280 billion over 20 years. The question that must be asked, which only the prime minister or the minister of finance can answer is: Where is this money going to come from? Quite frankly, we seem to be making it up as we go along.

The absence of a national discourse and agreement around the funding arrangement for TREND threatens the viability and sustainability of the programme. Senator Crawford’s suggestion is the only thing that has come remotely close to sparking a public discussion, dialogue, or discourse on how we fund TREND and, by extension, how we properly fund our schools.

There can be no meaningful transformation of education unless adequate resources are identified and pumped into the sector. We fail to see the savings that will result from making the right decision to properly fund education, including less crime, a healthier population, and an increase in productivity which invariably leads to increases in gross domestic product. Some amongst us believe that as far as education is concerned, returns on investments should come before investment itself. We can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand.

It’s time that we lift the substantive discourse concerning funding of education above the political fray. Instead of seeking to politicise Senator Crawford’s proposal, let’s hear alternative proposals and let’s start the dialogue and debates. It would certainly be good to hear the prime minister and the minister of finance weigh in on the debate. The Government needs to also hold town hall meetings so that stakeholders can lend their voices to the debate.

Let’s get the entire country to coalesce around the issue of funding of education so that the necessary and right decisions can be made. Education is too important an issue to be used as a political football.

Mark Malabver

Principal Yallahs High School