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Caribbean Islands EDUCATION
The educational system was slow to reach most Jamaicans until
the early 1970s. Even after the abolition of slavery, education
remained uncommon; early efforts were conducted mostly by Christian
churches. In the late 1800s, some secondary schools created in
Kingston served primarily the light-skinned elite. The limited
availability of schools, especially beyond the primary level, and
the elitist curriculum intensified class divisions in colonial
society. A dual system of education, characterized by governmentrun primary schools and private secondary schools, effectively
barred a large part of the population from attaining more than
functional literacy. In addition, much of the content of formal
education in Jamaica was largely irrelevant for students unable to
attend universities in Britain. In 1943, fewer than 1 percent of
blacks and only 9 percent of the mixed races attended secondary
school.
The start of early self-government in 1944 finally cleared the
way for increased funding for education. From the establishment of
the Ministry of Education in 1953 to independence in 1962, a
national education policy was developed that expanded the scope of
education and redefined educational priorities. During the 1960s,
the major goal of the government in the field of education was the
construction of an adequate number of primary schools and fifty
junior secondary schools (grades seven, eight, and nine). Until the
1970s, however, the educational system continued to provide
insufficient opportunities at the postprimary levels because many
of the features inherited from the British educational system
remained.
The PNP government elected in 1972 initiated major changes in
the educational system. Qualitative and quantitative improvements
in education were identified as the key elements of the new
government's program during its first term in office (1972-76). The
two most important aspects of the program were universally free
secondary and college education and a campaign to eliminate
illiteracy. Educational reforms were intended to redress the social
inequalities that the system of secondary education had formerly
promoted and to create greater access for all Jamaicans to the
preferred government and private-sector jobs that typically
required a secondary school diploma.
The reforms of secondary education had positive but limited
effects. Greater access to educational was the main accomplishment
of the reform process, but limited funding may also have lowered
the quality of education for the increased numbers of students
attending secondary schools. Nevertheless, the introduction of
universally free secondary education was a major step in removing
the institutional barriers confronting poor Jamaicans who were
otherwise unable to afford tuition.
After changes in its literacy policies in the early 1970s, the
PNP government in 1974 formed the Jamaica Movement for the
Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL), which administered adult education
programs with the goal of involving 100,000 adults a year. Although
in 1987 specific data were lacking, increases in the national
literacy rates suggested the program was successful. Literacy rates
increased from 16.3 percent in 1871 to 47.2 percent in 1911, 67.9
percent in 1943, and more than 85 percent by the late 1970s.
The educational system in Jamaica was quite complex in the
1980s. The public school system was administered principally by the
Ministry of Education and regional school boards. Four major levels
(preprimary, primary, secondary, and higher education) were divided
into a number of different types of schools. The preprimary level
was made up of infant and basic schools (ages four to six); primary
education was provided at primary and "all-age" schools (grades one
through six). Secondary schools included "new" secondary schools,
comprehensive schools, and technical high schools (grades seven
through eleven) as well as trade and vocational institutes and high
schools (grades seven through thirteen). The twelfth and thirteenth
years of high school were preparatory for university matriculation.
The government also administered a school for the handicapped in
Kingston.
Although education was free in the public schools and school
attendance was compulsory to the age of sixteen, costs for books,
uniforms, lunch, and transport deterred some families from sending
their children to school. Public school enrollment ranged from 98
percent at the primary level to 58 percent at the secondary level
in the early 1980s. Schools were generally crowded, averaging forty
students per class.
There were also some 232 privately run schools in Jamaica,
ranging from primary to college. The total enrollment in private
schools was 41,000, or less than 7 percent of total public school
enrollment. Most private-school students were enrolled in
university preparatory programs. Both public and private schools
were characterized by numerous examinations that determined
placement and advancement. This testing material was originally
British, but by the 1980s the Caribbean Examinations Council was
increasingly the author of such tests.
Several colleges and universities served a limited number of
Jamaican students. These included the largest campus of the
University of the West Indies (UWI), the College of Arts, Science,
and Technology (CAST), the College of Agriculture, various teachers
colleges and community colleges, and a cultural training center
made up of separate schools of dance, drama, art, and music.
Located at Mona in the Kingston metropolitan area, the UWI was the
most prominent institution of higher learning on the island,
offering degree programs in most major fields of study. As a
regional university serving the needs of all the Commonwealth
Caribbean islands, the UWI also maintained campuses in Trinidad and
Tobago and Barbados. Approximately 5 percent of the Jamaican
population participated in university studies, although some
students pursued their academic training outside the Caribbean. In
1985 the government announced plans to begin reorganizing higher
education, including the eventual merger of CAST and the College of
Agriculture into a polytechnical institute or a university.
In the early 1980s, the government reoriented its development
strategies for education, emphasizing basic education in grades one
to nine and human resources training. The government's plan
stressed rehabilitating and upgrading primary and basic education
facilities, improving the quality and efficiency of basic
education, implementing a full curriculum for grades seven to nine
in all-age schools, and establishing an effective inservice
training program for teachers. Problems in secondary education were
also identified, such as the existence of a complicated, secondary
school system that produced graduates of varying quality and wasted
scarce financial resources.
The goals of developing the human resource potential of the
population intended to provide educational opportunities for
students to prepare them for the types of jobs available in
Jamaica. According to Prime Minister Edward Seaga, elected in 1980,
a major policy in the area of primary education was to ensure that
primary school graduates achieved functional literacy. Secondary
education was restructured to provide students with an education
sufficient to meet the requirements of upper secondary school. The
government reported in June 1986 that only 9,000 of 82,000 students
in lower secondary schools were receiving an acceptable level of
education.
At the postsecondary level, the most important initiative of
the government was the Human Employment and Resource Training
Program (HEART). Announced in 1982, HEART aimed at providing
training and employment for unemployed youths finished with school.
In 1983, roughly 4,160 persons began job training or entered
continuing business education classes. In 1985 six specialized
HEART academies provided training in agriculture; hotel,
secretarial, and commercial services; postal and telegraph
operations; industrial production; and cosmetology. Nearly 1,400
persons completed agricultural or construction trades programs
administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of
Youth and Community Development. The HEART program called for the
eventual construction of 12 academies capable of training 500
youths at a time in various skills. The program's critics charged,
however, that funds could be better spent on community colleges.
Education became increasingly politicized in the late 1980s,
mostly as a result of the scarcity of resources. Spending on
education declined to about 11 percent of government expenditures
in the early 1980s, after peaking at nearly 20 percent of the 1973
budget. Issues of increased pay for teachers and renewed tuition
expenses at the UWI threatened to make education a national
political issue.
Data as of November 1987
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