The recent announcement by the Minister of Education about the removal /suspension of certain entitlement as well as a number of other bills we are seeing being given an “expressed ride ” through parliament bring into sharp focus, how Jamaicans are truly unaware of what’s it leaders are doing on our behalf. Very few us us where aware of stuff that has been agreed on by our government and other, even as we are being asked to support their decisions.
Take for example in March, when Dr Peter Phillips after months of meeting with the private sector suddenly announced a multi-billion tax package much to the surprise of the private sectors who were all caught with their pants down. There was no consultation with these guys even thought the government has always suggested that it believes in and support consultation before it acts.
We now have the Minister of Education giving an error filled speech in parliament about teachers entitlement and the suspension of some of these benefits, which not only appears to breach the heads of agreement signed between the teachers and the government earlier in the year, but also smacks at gross dishonesty by some folks.
Once again there appeared to have been no consultation and the decision arrived at by the education minister was based on false data in some areas. This fiasco raises two very important question for me and that is where is the consultation and discussions that has been posited as being the hallmark of the PNP and why did they throw it out the window so quickly.
The other and more important question for me is what appears to be a grand deceit/dishonesty on the part of the government specifically the actions of the Minister of Finance Dr Peter Phillips and Horace Daley who is responsible for public service and also a part of that ministry. In February the GOJ lead by Dr Peter Phillips prepared a letter of intent to the IMF where it outlined actions to be taken by the Government to meet IMF requirements in order to secure much needed funding.
Given what we are now hearing from the Minister of Education, the removal/suspension of teacher entitlement where “agreed” on by Dr Peter Phillips and the IMF staff at that time ( Feb 2013). In March, the GOJ represented by Horace Daley from the MOF signed a heads of agreement between the Government and the JTA, where a wage freeze was agreed on over the next 4 yrs, while it was also agreed that certain benefits they enjoyed would have remained in tact and certain upward adjustments would be made but not salaries.
This agreement was between the JTA and other public services bodies was greeted with great joy by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance who hailed the groups which signed as true Patriots, who put the country above self. It now appears that the JTA and probably other public sector workers were the victim of grand deceit by Dr Peter Phillips and the Government of Jamaica . During the time (March) when the heads of agreement was being signed, Horace Daley must have known that the letter of intent prepared and signed by his boss and the BOJ Governor had called for the removal of certain benefits due to the teachers and yet he appeared to have said nothing based on what we are now hearing from the JTA president.
If this is not deceit at the highest level, then I don’t know what deceit, is, how could they have signed two agreement that with the space of one month which runs counter to each other ?
Now let’s play devils advocate here and assume that Horace Daley was not privy to what was contained in the Government letter of intent to the IMF. One would therefore be left to ask, why did his Dr Peter Phillips not share this information with the junior minister?
Is this another case of Dr Peter Phillips running off like he did in 2005/2006 where he signed a secret MOU with the USA and did not even tell his boss, what he was committing the Jamaican Government to? Either way, someone knew something and refused to share and discuss it at the table, thus allowing the deceit to reach to the point where it is now and the Minister of Education being left to not only deliver the bad news but to also clean up the mess that has been created as result.
Once again this deceptive and manipulative bunch has carefully sowed a seed of ” misrepresentation of the facts” ( aka lies) , when the Minister of Religion err Minister of Education said what he said in Parliament. The Jamaica public, which for the most part takes information at face value without processing that information or taking time out to determine the accuracy of such pronouncements and where quick to jump off on these false statement and agreeing with the Minister that these entitlements were massive and need to be trimmed.
Was it the intent of the Minister to misinform the public knowing how Jamaicans think ie they would accept that teachers are getting too much and delivering to little and so their benefits needed to be cut ?
If that was the intent , then his perception of a large section of the population was correct , as they accepted what he said, hook line and sinker. 😦
The JTA and the teachers who where being praised a few weeks ago as true Patriots are now being vilified by the public, who have been misled by a deceitful and calculated government, who truly knows what makes Jamaicans tick. Anything that the JTA and the teachers do from here forwards would been taken as very unpatriotic and an attempt to derail the IMF program, which we cannot afford to fail, when out first test come on stream in August.
Teachers and the JTA have now been placed in a position, where they could easily be considered ” enemies of the state” if they step up their action against the Minister of Education and the Government at large because these actions could affect our chances for successfully completing the steps required to complete the programme.
Strike one to the Government 🙂
More to come….
Warren's Blog 
Jamaican Teachers are lazy and incompetent. They deserve nothing. Most were poor students themselves and we need to get rid of at least 70% of the JTA members. One only has to look at the overall CXC results to know we are not getting our bang for our bucks. The current CXC exams are just a water-down version of the old GCE exams. Not surprisingly, we now have some students in First Form passing Mathematics and English with Level One.
Most of our High School students go home each day without a single homework assignment due to the lackadaisical attitudes of our so-call “Teachers”. They are not entailed to anything and most are simply having a free ride at our expense. The best Teachers I had during my High School days were professionals who were not trained teachers and were between jobs. If a student is not self-motivated and have the ability to be self-taught, their performance on external exams will be all but certain to be dismal failures.
70% of our High School students attend one of the upgraded High Schools and most of these students leave high schools without passing a single CXC subject. The JTA is evidently looking out for their members without any regards to the performance of their members or what is in the best interest of student population. Something needs to be done now, rather than later. Our School System is turning out semi-illiterates by the thousands each year and now the JTA is calling for the removal of the Minister of Education because he dare suggest doing away with or modifying one of their sacred cows. What the F…..
I would not be too quick to lay blame at the feet of teachers.
When I was going to school there was no day that I came home and my parents did not ask to see my books if I had home work.
If I had none I was given some, I had no free pass.
PTA meetings my parents would always be there and meeting my teachers and getting first hand report on my performance.
Today’s parts don’t give a rats ass until it come unto graduation , because that is a time to ” bling bling”.
Parents must become more involved, that how it used to be when we had better results.
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Maybe you want to look at the recently compiled data. It is indeed difficult to argue against the facts as established by raw data. Personally, I think the situation is much more Pitifully thab what has been reported. Jay, do you have any “skin in the game” (apart from your kid(s) attending Private School in Jamaica)? You seem to be on the wrong side of this issue, not a huge stretch of the imagination, since you have a track record of being on the “wrong” side of most issues.
“Weak leadership and poor management are negatively affecting the performance of students in more than 40 per cent (86) of the 205 schools examined by the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) during the period September 2011-March 2012.
In a damning indictment of teachers and principals, the NEI found that student attainment was unsatisfactory in 142 of the 205 schools, with 13 of these schools in dire straits and in need of immediate support.”
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130526/lead/lead3.html
I am not sure how you arrive at the view that I am on the “wrong” side of this issue. May I therefore ask what is the right side and how did you arrive at that position ?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from LIME.
Test , I would like to hear you on the ” How about cutting the benefits of our politicians”?
Why do we continue to excuse the poor performance of our politicians and hold them up a sacred “cows”, while we continue to pound on the rest of Jamaicans ?
This is precisely the reason why we cannot move foward. RONNIE comes out speaks half truths mix up many issues and like sheep we run along with the crap from the minister accepting is as gospel.
Its no wonder that continue to do what they do and take us for idiots and who can blame them.
Well Jay will !
Test, I think you have not thought about this issue thoroughly. Jay’s question is important. What do you call the ‘wrong side” and how do you know the “right side”? the report speaks to weak leadership and poor management. if this is true, how do you blame teachers for that? that is a ministerial problem because principals appointments are sanctioned by the ministry of education and assessed by education officers who report to the permanent secretary who engages the minister. The minister must see that this is done. Besides, that data is not a true representation of the education population.
You people are really crazy. For along time conservatives all over the world have been highlighting the need to rein in all powerful self serving unions, but noone listened to them. Unions in Jamaica must become more strategic and policy oriented. For example in developed countries like Australia professional groups have created long term plans for the economy. In Jamaica unions only care about rewarding themselves. For example, only fifty percent of the grade eleven cohort is required to sit the CSEC examination. Most of our students are ill equipped, and our teachers lack the technical competence to assist them. For example, how many teachers know child psychology or the work of Seligman? Although, I support the IMF programme and not the government I really don’t have a problem with the teachers calling for the head of Mr. Thwaites. Anyone, who has studied the education system in countries in Europe and Asia will not respect Mr.Thwaites. Thwaites is a moral theorist not a revolutionary minister
It is very unfortunate that you have taken this broad brush view of teachers being lazy when most of the problems in the education system are beyond teachers control. If you examine what you wrote you would realize that you may have identified a problem that is at the ministerial level. you make reference to the fact that CXC is a water down of GCE exams. if this is a problem in education, then it is not the teachers fault. they would be working with an approve syllabus from the ministry of education. To say most students go home without homework is where you are wrong again. Has it occurred to you that most of our students of today are very delinquent and must be monitored consistently? I suggest you do a little more research about the development of education over the past 50years and see if our government has done enough before placing blames solely at the feet of teachers. the partnership that should exist in education is not balanced and that is major problem.
Nurses next.
You people are really crazy. For along time conservatives all over the world have been highlighting the need to rein in all powerful self serving unions, but noone listened to them. Unions in Jamaica must become more strategic and policy oriented. For example in developed countries like Australia professional groups have created long term plans for the economy. In Jamaica unions only care about rewarding themselves. For example, only fifty percent of the grade eleven cohort is required to sit the CSEC examination. Most of our students are ill equipped, and our teachers lack the technical competence to assist them. For example, how many teachers know child psychology or the work of Seligman
Lipton Matthews what is your source of information that states that ONLY 50% percent of grade eleven cohort is required to sit CSEC examination? I ask because I know for a fact that this information is inaccurate. Secondly, if most of the teachers lack the technical competence then the issue or problem is not with the teachers. This is an issue that would have to be addressed at the ministerial and policy level where they would engage the institutions that are responsible for training teachers. Besides, teachers are indeed expose to child psychology in training but schools are further equipped with guidance counselors to further address psychological issues
Educating Ronnie On Education
by Gordon Robinson
I’m sick and tired of the ignorance-based sophistry that’s currently passing for a serious education debate in Jamaica.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130526/cleisure/cleisure2.html
That was a very good article by Gordon Robinson. Its not the first time I have heard about the Finnish solution to education. Deserves serious investigations.
…Ninety-three per cent of Finns graduate from high school (US rate less than 80 per cent; Jamaica less than 40 per cent). More Finns (66 per cent) than Americans and from every European nation are accepted to college….
It is very difficult to take Mr. Gordon Robinson assessment as to who the real or perceived villains are in the Jamaican education debate, when his article highlights such a low graduation rate for Jamaica high school students….it is a lot worst than I had initially thought. I wonder what percentage of our Teachers actually use the paid study leave to actually upgrade/enhance their academic pursuits or do they just purchase more advanced degrees from Online Diploma factories or go oversees to work illegally? What say you Jay; are we getting our bang for our bucks with the current situation or is it that you are so preoccupied with “Politicians” that you are unable to see the proverbial forest for the trees?
I think you should read the article quoting one of Jamaica’s most successful Managers, Richard Byles.
Test I can see the forest from the tree but you appear to have lost your sight of everything.
You should try to gather more information so you can be better informed vs listening to the very politicians you are suggesting that I am preoccupied with. 🙂
Ronnie is a man of the cloth but also he is not truthful and may also be …………
Just go back a few years to 2002 and the Postal Service In Jamaica.
Check the facts, I won’t give you any link, least you say I created it 🙂
Ronald Thwaites is a very dishonest man, He resigned because of corruption some years ago and today he is telling people about values
Jay, people like Test are partisan pnp hacks. The NEI publishes the same report every with similar findings and very little implementation takes place. Jay ; I know a lot about the education systems in Finland, Denmark and I also know that a system cannot do well with poor ministers. The teachers are not the problems, poor policy implementation is. For example, according to the founder of the Grade Six Achievement Test, Gsat was a good test, but the pnp did not follow policy.
Jay, while you are at it, you may want to remind the Teachers of what happened recently in Greece and Cyprus
Lipton Matthews, on May 26, 2013 at 11:44 am said:
and our teachers lack the technical competence to assist them. For example, how many teachers know child psychology or the work of Seligman?
Lipton Matthews, on May 27, 2013 at 6:45 pm said:
The teachers are not the problems, poor policy implementation is
Within the same thread, you change your position faster than Usain Bolt runs the 100m. Are teachers part of the problem or not? Your opinions vacillate from one extreme to the next and with the passage of time, we will see you contradicting your own statement. It’s not clear if this is a genetic deficiency or something a (Fiscal) Conservative do as a matter of practice. One moment it is the Jamaican Unions that are at fault, next it is the poor policy implementation by the Minister of Education. I will give you six hours to formulate, on the fly, a new opinion on what ails our educational system. Let the 6-hour countdown begins…….
I did not change my position. I only highlighted the deficiencies of the JTA and the weak political leadership which perpetuated the system of failure. It is good that you actually sought to paraphrase me. “Teachers are not the problem poor policy implementation is”. In Denmark and Finland substandard teachers are improved; this is why the ministry of education exist to improve poor quality students and teachers. In Hong Kong the ministry of education ensures that only the best and brightest become teachers. The ministry of education is responsible for policy formation and when the minister of education fails, the system will fail. You claimed that I changed my position quickly I did not. Mr. Test; if you could read carefully then you will realize that I only highlighted the flaws of both the educators and the ministry of education, however; I placed the blame at the ministry’s feet ; because it is responsible for policy and if poor teachers exist; the ministry should do something about it. Don’t worry test, I will fix Jamaica’s problems someday.
Don’t worry test, I will fix Jamaica’s problems someday.
I hope so! Hopefully you will be a confirmed Comrade by then, since that is the only possible path available for successful implementation of the many policies you might envision. Would you consider such a membership? If so, now might be the time to start saying “nice things” about PNP…yes? : grin:
I did not change my position. I only highlighted the deficiencies of the JTA and the weak political leadership which perpetuated the system of failure. It is good that you actually sought to paraphrase me. “Teachers are not the problem poor policy implementation is”. In Denmark and Finland substandard teachers are improved; this is why the ministry of education exists to improve poor quality students and teachers. In Hong Kong the ministry of education ensures that only the best and brightest become teachers. The ministry of education is responsible for policy formation and when the minister of education fails, the system will fail. You claimed that I changed my position quickly I did not. Mr. Test; if you could read carefully then you will realize that I only highlighted the flaws of both the educators and the ministry of education, however; I placed the blame at the ministry’s feet ; because it is responsible for policy and if poor teachers exist; the ministry should do something about it. Don’t worry test, I will fix Jamaica’s problems someday.
Don’t worry test, I will fix Jamaica’s problems someday.
I hope so! Hopefully you will be a confirmed Comrade by then, since that is the only possible path available for the successful implementation of the many policies you might envision. Would you consider such a membership? If so, now might be the time to start saying “nice things” about PNP… yes? 😀
Why won’t you answer some simple questions, instead of re-posting your comments? I did a re-post of my earlier comments just to annoy you……… stop the double posting mon, otherwise I will have to ask Jay to put in in timeout.
I am a strict conservative. Furthermore, I don’t believe in populist programmes like Jeep. The pnp is not my type of party. I don’t believe in big government or the government owning agencies like cocoa board etc. In addition, I am not into unions and I don’t like the lazy masses. For example, the pnp would never abolish local government or severely limit the power of unions.
Teachers Rack Up $1.7 Billion Leave Bill
Figures from the Ministry of Education have shown that the cash-strapped Government forked out at least $1.8 billion to pay teachers, who left classrooms to embark on either prolonged study leave or vacation leave of up to eight months during the 2011-2012 financial year.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=45227
I think these so-called “Study Leave” is more the latter (vacation leave) than it is true study leave. Like the US, most Teachers in Jamaica are drawn from the bottom rung of the high school graduates and are not even fit to be Teachers to begin with. Maybe we should start targeting high achievers from the High School population to entice them to become Teachers. How do we expect poor performing High School graduates to become effective Teachers? I often time shocked to see my fellow High School graduates who were “poor performers” in high School, are now parading themselves around has “Trained Teachers”.
See Article below:
Reformers focus on recruiting better students for teacher training
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The National Council on Teacher Quality, a research and advocacy group, has led the charge against low admission standards, frequently citing a 2007 McKinsey report that claims the majority of U.S. teachers are recruited from the bottom two-thirds of their class. By contrast, in countries such as Finland and Singapore that perform well on international measures of academic achievement, teacher candidates are drawn from the top quartile.
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Read more here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/28/3420086/reformers-focus-on-recruiting.html#storylink=cpy
Jamaica will never pay ( note I did not say cannot pay) teachers their worth and so we will continue to get the best graduate going into more lucrative areas and those who cannot make it enter teaching.
The police force is the same darned thing, then we wonder why we cannot solve crime.
Watched a movie recently, where a man assigned to transport money fell into financial problems. His employers found out about it after the employees banker contacted them.
He was called in and terminated and the reason was ” we cannot have people who have financial problems guarding millions of dollars of other people’s money”
Maybe its time to refocus our priorities.
Jeff to say teachers have racked up billions cannot be more an inaccurate statement. teachers go on leave because it is an entitlement written in law. they didnt of their own will did it. beside leaves are approved by the ministry of education. NO ONE else. the ministry created most of the problems that exist because the refuse to act with accountability and each time, the teachers become their easy target when someone must take a fall to cover their backs
rainereid:
Are you a Teacher in Jamaica or JTA official? The dollar amount quote was taken from the Gleaner article. If fact, according to other sources, the actual liability to the government is closer to JA$2. 5 Billion. I have read all your comments on this blog and you have consistently minimize Teacher’s impact on students’ performance, seeking to shift the blame on the Ministry of Education or students who are ill-prepared to take on challenging school work. Nothing was said by you as to where along their educational journey did these students fell behind and what intervention are in place to prevent such short falls.
I’m willing to listen to your take on the State of the Jamaican Educational System and what short and long term plans that could be put in place to make our Educational System world class. I assume you believe that the system is broken and is in dire straits, where a significant number of our students are not deriving any benefits from the system. How do we fix the system going forward? Or, are you more concern about the gravy train that is about to be derailed? Your thoughts…….
Jeff have taken issue with the use of the phrase “rack up” because all teachers who take leave whether it be study or vacation, do so with approval. Secondly, I responded to your views and others who are placing blame solely at the feet of teachers without looking at the broader views. If you notice, I used points put forward by yourself and others as the basis of my arguments. this discourse ought to be balanced and as it is, it is not. We tend to have a tendency to cast all blames on teachers. We need to learn to recognize the categories of the issues, ones that are at the ministerial level, teachers level, policy level, organizational level and such forth… The “gravy train” as you call it is where the nuclei of your argument lies which is rather linear. You need to look at issues holistically and not select the aspects that you want. All areas are interconnected.
If we swapped the teacher from Champion, Wolmer, Immaculate, Glenmuir, KC, JC Georges, Ardenne with those from Haile Selasslie, Seaforth High etc etc, , what results would you expect from both sets of schools?
Your answer will be interesting ,
Think I should do a poll
Jay I am sure if that happens it would be a real eye opener for those who lack vision or refuse to see things for what they are.