Dear Editor,

The fever of the general election has cooled, giving way to a return to normality. What lingers now is the promise — some would say the urgent expectation — of long-awaited reforms in the education sector from the newly elected Government.

And perhaps it couldn’t come at a better time, as classrooms across the island reopen for the fall semester. Teachers, however, find themselves navigating a delicate balancing act: juggling scarce resources while rethinking and reshaping their teaching methods to meet the demands of a shifting landscape.

At the heart of it all lies a sobering truth: too many of our students continue to stumble in mathematics and English, not because of a lack of effort, but because the very foundation on which their learning should stand was never firmly laid.

From my own observation, a troubling pattern emerges: Far too many of our students struggle with the basics. Simple arithmetic feels like a mountain to climb, and the inability to read fluently often stalls their progress before it can truly begin. These hurdles, though fundamental, weigh heavily on the learning curve of the average Jamaican student, and the ripple effects extend far beyond the classroom.

A foundation construct in developing one’s numerical skills is severely lacking and, sadly, many of my former students, who I tutored in high school, have stated that it was either too difficult to learn or the pedagogical method used in their classroom didn’t make learning maths fun or engaging.

Some of my students question the very pertinence of learning maths in the 21st century. To them, what matters is that you can make easy money or live comfortably through inheritable endowments from family and links. Ironically, having a command of money comes with financial literacy and strong reasoning skills, the cornerstone being numeracy and literacy.

Picture this: You walk into a government office to apply for a birth certificate, a driver’s licence, or even to register a small business in hopes of building a better life only to be confronted with the painful reality that you cannot sign your own name. Let me be clear, this is not about shaming those who struggle with learning challenges or those who were denied the privilege of a quality education. Rather, it is a stark reminder of how deeply literacy — or the lack thereof — shapes everyday life in Jamaica.

Back in June the Ministry of Education and Youth took the step of reintroducing reading programmes at the primary school level, an effort aimed squarely at tackling the persistent and troubling issue of low literacy across Jamaica. It’s a move that feels long overdue, and one that I will be watching closely with genuine hope that it sparks the turnaround we so desperately need.

Dujean Edwards

dujeanedwards@gmail.com