PRIMARY SCHOOL DILEMMA I recently read the Economic and Social Review 2012 Report and was quite startled by the section on Public Primary Education. The Report indicated that the student population enrolled in primary schools had declined steadily over the last 15 years. The decline has been as steep as 36.6 % from 1997/8 to 2011/12. In 2012 the student enrolment at primary schools was 17,276 students. I attempted to project what that student population might be in the next seven years by looking at the number of births in the same period in the Report. In 2012 there were 2,103 births, meaning that if all these children are placed in primary schools in the next 7 years, and the growth remains flat ( best case scenario) then assuming 7 yrs in primary school, the student enrolment will be 14,721 students in 2020. Unless there is a tremendous increase in births, the situation that exists within the primary schools will remain. What therefore is the situation? The Economic and Social Review stated the following: Surplus physical capacity was 36.6 percent in primary schools in 2011/12, an increase of 7.6 percent over 2010/11. Of the 75 public primary schools on island, 71 schools are operating at surplus capacity ranging from 88.4 percent to 1.6 percent with 41 schools operating at above 40.0 percent of surplus capacity. These are staggering numbers and we have a significant dilemma in our primary school system. Undoubtedly it suggests that the education planners failed the country. Surely there were some signs that were projecting that the school building programme for primary schools should have been reconsidered. If the quick mathematical calculations for future enrolment are assumed correct, the surplus capacity will be with us for a very long time into the future. How can this surplus capacity be placed to productive use? There is a growing trend of thought that Early Childhood Education has a profound effect on societal changes. With the phenomenon of working single mothers, this support system is relevant. The surplus capacity thus provides an avenue for the swift development of an effective Early Childhood Education model. The proposal being presented is to lease out these empty classroom to local entrepreneurs who wish to go into Early Childhood Education. The Ministry of Education will develop the standards for the Centres and provide support in training. The St Lucia Development Bank will be asked to provide soft loans for these entrepreneurs to finance the teaching materials. There will be a monthly fee charged for the use of the space which will cover the utilities costs and general maintenance. This will generate some employment within the communities, ensure that there is quality early childhood education and in the process utilize an investment. While on the topic of education, I will also want to suggest to the Ministry to begin to consider the education of a child as a seamless transition from Pre- School to Primary School to Secondary School. In my years on this Earth, I have been immersed in the thoughts of those in the Education system, my grandfather was a school principal, my father was a school principal, my aunt was a teacher, my elder sister was a teacher and my wife also has a passion for teaching. After 51 years of such immersion, you begin to see education in a totally different light. The school has to prepare a child for the society, and thus as stated before, the approach has to be seamless when you have universal secondary education. Why expose a child to a concept in Grade 6 in primary school which he will be exposed in Form 3.? The preparation of the primary school student should have drastically changed when St. Lucia moved to Universal Secondary Education. Universal Secondary Education says that this child is now to be exposed to concepts and ideas for 12 years ( 7 yrs primary/ 5 yrs secondary) to prepare him for society. This is the seamless concept of education that I am referring to, where there is a progressive building of the student. The Common Entrance Examination attempts to compress 12 years of education. The child is exposed to Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Mathematics, English, and Social Studies, which is in order but to what level. In order to emphasize the point, I have studied the sciences from ‘O’ Level, to ‘A’ level to University Level and there are some questions in the General Paper in the Common Entrance exams that I cannot answer. I am proposing that those formative years at Primary School should be also used to teach ethics, social responsibility and practical skills. The primary schools should have a garden, where every child learns the science of agriculture. We can even expose the primary school child to how to assemble a computer. The primary school child should be exposed to future careers. I remember several years ago I had an interview with an ‘A’ level student for an Engineering scholarship. I asked him what field he wanted to pursue, and he said Civil, which perked my interest. I asked why Civil, and he said he loved equipments. Obviously he was not fully briefed on the engineering disciplines and mechanical engineering may have been more suited for his taste than Civil engineering. The present Primary School Dilemma has opened opportunities that I believe should be seized. My hope is that this ‘dead space’ that is evident where some schools are at 88% surplus capacity, and 41 schools operating above 40 % surplus capacity, be fully utilized. We must embrace creativity and be bold to change our approach to primary school education and let it become a seamless transition into the secondary school. JOHN PETERS
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:00:29 +0000
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