Education process in Jamaica

To understand the education of Jamaica you would have to take a look at various factors throughout its history, development as a country, slavery, and outside influences over its learning process. The facts mentioned have made this process a little awkward, but with its own flow. Many people believe that in Jamaica education isnt a main focus in the governments priorities and that they are outdated in this department. The truth is that the process of education in Jamaica was slow until the last 3 years in which a lot of money and time has been invested in it.

The history of education in this country can be seen s a step by step procedure. The first schools were established by !hristian groups, but they didnt had an impact on education. "n the late #$ s many secondary schools were created in %ingston, but they

primarily served to the light&skinned elite. 'n attempt at reaching education for everyone was made during #$(3 where primary education was made free during the island, still the disinterest in this didnt helped much. There were another attempts at improving education and creating schools but most of these were brought down, sometimes because of disinterest or by natural events, for e)ample on January #*, #( + the island was entirely revamped by an earth,uake causing a lot of damage to schools that were built. -ovember of #(#., a hurricane also passed and caused great destruction. "n Even after the abolition of slavery in #$3$ there were pre/udices against the black Jamaicans and the secondary education system wasnt at their reach until the #(+ s.

There has been two churches who have been up front trying to make education progress in Jamaica, these two churches have been the 0utheran missionaries and the !hristians. The !hristian church have been established in the island since its 1discovery2 in #*(* at the hands of !hristopher !olumbus. 3ince then the !hristians have always tried to put up schools and try educating the people, with little success in making an impact and revolutioni4ing the system. The 0utherans on the other hand came to evangeli4e during early #(5 s but left the pro/ect with little success and came again to the island in the #(( s. "n the ( s these missionaries have had more success in educating Jamaicans, they implemented schools and churches, both which serve as educational centers one way or the other. This church is growing and plans to continue educating people in their religion and in knowledge.

6hen the real improvement in the education system was finally made began with the Jamaican independence in #(7.. 6ith this came a considerable effort for e)panding coverage of education and fighting illiteracy within the whole country. The results of this emphasis can be widely seen in the subse,uent decades. 8uring the + s a lot of money, by the government and the 93', was invested in public education. This money was directed towards development programs, constructing schools, e)panding teacher& training programs, provision of primary schools and teachers cottages. :rimary school was finally universal during this time also. The Jamaican Movement for the advancement of 0iteracy ;J'M'0< was created during the + s to fight illiteracy in adults of all races. This program has been a success since a national survey conducted in #((* revealed that

a +5.*= of the population were literate. This program is only growing since in the last seven years some ##3,$+$ people have enrolled in J'M'0s courses islandwide. 3ome other aspects of education that have been positively affected by these are the environmental consciousness>education, the creative and performing arts, culture, technology, industry.

"n the $ s some changes to the structure and programs from the + s came. These changes were made because of a change in the government, from :rime Minister Michael Manley to :rime Minister Edward 3eaga. 3eaga embraced the doctrine of neo& conservatism, and had his roots in the poorest places on the island. ?ather than eliminating the programs like J'M'0, he restructured them for a better outcome. The ob/ectives of the program were e)panded, like to integrate teaching of literacy with occupational skills, the ages of the students was also e)panded to young adults ;#* years<. :robably his most memorable move was his introduction of @E'?T ;@uman Employment and ?esource Training< in #($.. @E'?T consisted in bringing up more skilled workers for that employment and production augmented in the island. The main ob/ectives on this program wereA #< to develop, encourage , monitor and provide finance for training schemes for employment of traineesB .< to provide employment opportunities for traineesB 3< to direct or assist in the placement of persons seeking employment in JamaicaB *< to promote employment pro/ects. Through this program many trainees have been able to complete the 13chool 0eaver :rogram2 obtaining a certification similar to a @igh 3chool diploma. "n #((* the -ational !ouncil on Technical and Cocational Education and Training ;-!TCET< made a program for graduated trainees from the

3chool 0eaver program which now enables them to work in many other commonwealths. The standard school organi4ation in Jamaica runs from basic teaching to a #3th grade. Dirst is the basic school ;ages four to si)<, then comes the primary schools with ages from si) to twelve ;grades # to 7<. 'fter primary school the education goes to the Dirst and 3econd&!ycles secondary schools, the first being from twelve to si)teen ;+ to ## grades<, and the second one being from si)teen to eighteen ;#. and #3th grades<. 3chool generally runs from +A3 am through .A pm, with morning and lunch breaks in&between, although

some schools have alternate hours and students enter to class in the afternoon. 3econdary education is offered in public and private ways, other children are on church oriented schools. 3cholarships from the government are offered to enter public secondary schools depending on the scores in the -ational 'ssessment :rogramme e)ams, at age eleven or twelve. These tests are an e,uivalent of the 3'Ts in the 93 or the so&called !ollege Eoard in :uerto ?ico. The kids that dont enter these public schools can opt for going into a private school, yet the government are trying to make more children go into secondary education because one third of the children in Jamaica dont get secondary education. There are three school terms for the year, the first from 3eptember to 8ecember, the second from January to 'pril, and the third one from May to July. 3ome breaks are the ones from 'sh 6ednesday, Easter, and # or . weeks around -ational @eroes 8ay. The government also takes responsibility over the basic schooling ;* to 7 years old< in financial support, teacher training, standards and curriculum settings.

The effort made towards education has being notably strong since Jamaica got its independence. 3ince this year some priorities and reforms have being made so that the

education reaches the most possible Jamaicans. The primary education is now at the reach of everyone, this was one reached goal, but now the emphasis is on preparing these kids in primary school well enough so that most of them enter secondary education. 3ome priorities in the primary school given by the government areA functional literacy and numeracy, competence in basic knowledge and skills re,uired for access to secondary education, and possession of a caring attitude towards self, others, and all nature. The secondary school is also being reformed with the ob/ective of preparing all students and making them have high ,uality education. 3ome of these reforms areA a common curriculum in grades +&( in all schools through the ?eform of 3econdary Education pro/ect, and upgrading of teaching staff and general facilities.

The curriculum made is based upon what the government thinks is the students necessities at certain ages. The one made for primary school is made so that the students are prepared for entering secondary education. The primary school curriculum includes the following coursesA language mathematics, science, social studies, drama, music, visual arts, physical education and religious education. "n public secondary schools there are five courses that have priority which areA language arts, mathematics, resources and technology, science and social studies. 3ome other courses that are though are career education, guidance, spanish, drama, art, music and religious education.

Most students are partially bilingual, being !reole their first language. The education system aims for a better education in the English language. "n the primary level the students are allowed to speak in their native language, but the teachers have to guide

them to a better speaking English. Fn the secondary level teachers re more strict with this, and push them to speak and learn more of the language.

!ulture is important for every country, there lies its fundaments and identity as a nation. Thats why every government promotes it and Jamaica is no e)ception. The Ministry of Education, Gouth and !ulture is promoting the culture of its own nation, their main ob/ective is to make sure that the youth knows and appreciates their culture, and that outside influences from the media and technology doesnt make them forget whats theirs. Fther ob/ectives are that that information is reachable for every Jamaican, the preservation and nurture of the Jamaican culture, promotion of an environment of creativity and space for the artists, between others. The Jamaica !ultural 8evelopment !ommission organi4es cultural activities and competitions to foment the development of the arts, they also foment the learning and education in the arts. Fne worldly recogni4ed form of art in Jamaica is their reggae music, music with 'frican and Elack 'merican roots and rhythms. Many artists have being awarded for their reggae compositions and music, especially the late Eob Marley.

Jamaica has the arts in a very high focus, this is because of their philosophy that in the applied arts, like architecture, craft, and many others, are the basics of our society. They promote it very roughly, this can be seen in the number of universities that have the arts as their most important courses. 3ome of the universities that have the arts as a priority areA the 9niversity of the 6est "ndies ;#(*$<, !ollege of 'rts, 3cience and Technology ;#(5(<, the Edna Manley !ollege of the Cisual and performing arts ;#(+7<,

and the Teacher Training !olleges, which use the performing arts as a teaching tool. The artists are assisted by training programs, enabled through ta) relief on professional e,uipment and materials. They also have programs for copyright protection.

'nother important issue and emphasis of education in Jamaica is the Environmental education. This matter of education have been active for some time now in this country. 3ince the + s, Jamaica became an active member of the "nternational Environmental Education :rogram, which promotes taking care of the planet, and teaches de ecological issues. 8uring the #($ s, Jamaica was constantly part of the !aribbean regional activity on environmental education. 'lso in #($#, a training workshop on environmental education was held in Jamaica. "n the #(( s the participation in these pro/ects only grew, with activeness in pro/ects with the !aribbean Journal of Education and the 9nited -ations !onference on Environment and 8evelopment. 8uring this time, the -atural ?esources !onservation 'uthority was formed taking care of promoting public awareness on ecological issues and their affect on Jamaica. The -ational Environmental Education !ommittee ;-EE!< was also created for promoting environmental education around the country. "n #(($, Jamaica produced a -ational Environmental Education 'ction :lan for 3ustainable 8evelopment, which is based on incorporating environmental awareness and education into every aspect of Jamaican life, its goal is to make Jamaicans conscious and that the future is of a good environment in Jamaican life.

The education process in Jamaica can be considered as a long process, although it has improved greatly in the last * years, these improvements were made possible because of all the first attempts from churches, revolutionaries and artists that were fighting for a good education and e,uality in Jamaica since its abolition of slavery. 'll of these improvements in education were finally made possible with its independence and the ob/ectives the government had in promoting education and the arts, being the arts its main focus. The government took illiteracy and fought it pretty well with its programs, this was one huge milestone in developing the education of the country. " believe that they still have much things to improve, especially in making the secondary education available for everyone, but they have improved greatly in a short period of time, and giving the same opportunities to a lot more of people.