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Wanted: Better student teachers - Holness says poor-quality intake into training institutions contributes to weak education at primary schools
Published: Monday | June 8, 2009
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
Already jolted by data indicating that the standard of education at the primary level is a problem, Education Minister Andrew Holness has declared that the poor quality of students being accepted by teachers' colleges is a major contributing factor.
In yesterday's Sunday Gleaner, the minister rasped the principals who, he said, are the main cause of the poor standards in the schools. Holness has now turned his attention on teacher-training institutions which he lists as a second reason for the problem.
"Poor-quality intake into the teachers' colleges, that's number two. You may not have had people going into the profession who are of the best quality," he told The Gleaner. "In other words, for many years, teaching was viewed as the profession of second best. You know, you can't get into anything else, you go into teaching."
According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), scores of students graduate from the sixth grade and are not able to spell their names.
Fallen from grace
Holness pointed to a World Bank study which noted that the quality of education, of all the education variables, has the highest correlation factor with economic growth.
"That (quality of education) is what we have to focus on," he said.
Dr Pauline Knight, director of social policy, planning and research at the PIOJ, agreed that the noble profession has fallen from grace. She said she believed teaching no longer occupies the lofty position it once held among the professions.
"It is a fallback position when you can't do any better (but) some people still do it for love," Knight said.
Those who love teaching, she argued, have the commitment that will push them to go beyond the call of duty in a highly stressful occupation that is not particularly financially rewarding.
Knight told The Gleaner that the authorities need to make the profession more attractive to lure more committed individuals.
However, she said she believed the quality of the intake into the teachers' colleges was just one of a multiplicity of factors affecting the quality of education at the primary level.
She pointed out that the "creaming off of good teachers" by other countries has had a negative impact on the quality of education provided locally.
Misinformed
However, Doran Dixon, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), intimated that the minister was misinformed.
"While I don't hold any brief for the minister, I don't know what data he was using," Dixon said. "The fact is, we are experiencing almost a glut, in terms of applications, at The Mico (University College), and I suspect with other training colleges, so you have an ability to choose from those applications that you get.
"So it is not that you are scraping the bottom of the bucket and you have to take whatever you get. You have an oversupply and you are therefore able to sieve."
Arguing that none of the local teacher-training institutions would deliberately jeopardise their status and integrity by accepting substandard students, Dixon said this was another case of blaming the teachers for every problem in the education sector.
"Teachers are an important ingredient, but it can't be if you fix the teachers you fix everything because that is not the reality," Dixon said.
tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead1.html
Published: Monday | June 8, 2009
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
Already jolted by data indicating that the standard of education at the primary level is a problem, Education Minister Andrew Holness has declared that the poor quality of students being accepted by teachers' colleges is a major contributing factor.
In yesterday's Sunday Gleaner, the minister rasped the principals who, he said, are the main cause of the poor standards in the schools. Holness has now turned his attention on teacher-training institutions which he lists as a second reason for the problem.
"Poor-quality intake into the teachers' colleges, that's number two. You may not have had people going into the profession who are of the best quality," he told The Gleaner. "In other words, for many years, teaching was viewed as the profession of second best. You know, you can't get into anything else, you go into teaching."
According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), scores of students graduate from the sixth grade and are not able to spell their names.
Fallen from grace
Holness pointed to a World Bank study which noted that the quality of education, of all the education variables, has the highest correlation factor with economic growth.
"That (quality of education) is what we have to focus on," he said.
Dr Pauline Knight, director of social policy, planning and research at the PIOJ, agreed that the noble profession has fallen from grace. She said she believed teaching no longer occupies the lofty position it once held among the professions.
"It is a fallback position when you can't do any better (but) some people still do it for love," Knight said.
Those who love teaching, she argued, have the commitment that will push them to go beyond the call of duty in a highly stressful occupation that is not particularly financially rewarding.
Knight told The Gleaner that the authorities need to make the profession more attractive to lure more committed individuals.
However, she said she believed the quality of the intake into the teachers' colleges was just one of a multiplicity of factors affecting the quality of education at the primary level.
She pointed out that the "creaming off of good teachers" by other countries has had a negative impact on the quality of education provided locally.
Misinformed
However, Doran Dixon, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), intimated that the minister was misinformed.
"While I don't hold any brief for the minister, I don't know what data he was using," Dixon said. "The fact is, we are experiencing almost a glut, in terms of applications, at The Mico (University College), and I suspect with other training colleges, so you have an ability to choose from those applications that you get.
"So it is not that you are scraping the bottom of the bucket and you have to take whatever you get. You have an oversupply and you are therefore able to sieve."
Arguing that none of the local teacher-training institutions would deliberately jeopardise their status and integrity by accepting substandard students, Dixon said this was another case of blaming the teachers for every problem in the education sector.
"Teachers are an important ingredient, but it can't be if you fix the teachers you fix everything because that is not the reality," Dixon said.
tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead1.html
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