Has the education system reached a critical point?

As we enter a new academic year, there are serious concerns about the state of the education system. What makes it even more interesting is that the return to classes comes on the heels of the annual Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) conference and the release of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) results. These two key events help provide a broader perspective on the state of affairs in one of the country’s most important sectors.

The JTA conference addressed a range of issues, including the government’s decision to recruit foreign teachers to fill local vacancies and a lawsuit filed against the association by one of its former presidents, La Sonja Harrison. The latter case led to a war of words between former president Leighton Johnson and 2025-26 president-elect Mark Malabver, prompting the association to bar media from the discussion.

In a previous case involving international teacher recruitment, the JTA accused the Department of Education and Youth of failing to consult and engage with the matter. Johnson said the department often took that approach — acting independently of the JTA. But as a senior education official told the Journal on Monday
Collector“If the ministry had consulted them, JTA would have been the first to criticize them.”

An unnamed senior official also accused JTA of supporting inappropriate teacher behavior, while a source equally lambasted teachers for unbecoming and unprofessional behavior: “If you ever see and learn what nonsense teachers do and their association supports them, it’s pathetic. Simple. They have to give three months’ notice. They leave with dozens of grades for kids. They leave without performing other administrative duties. When some principals withhold salaries (even though they shouldn’t), they go to their association and it supports them in their misconduct.”

The actions of some teachers resulted in some students losing scholarships and other incentives because teachers left without submitting final grades.

There is a clear and ongoing battle between the JTA and the government. A senior official has called on portfolio minister Fayval Williams to speak out and be brave about the inappropriate behaviour she has observed from the JTA and some national educators.

Jamaica Secondary School Principals Association president Livern Wright made a significant point: the government and JTA have not done enough to improve teachers’ working conditions.

“The JTA is supposed to talk about terms of service. I don’t think the JTA is good at negotiating terms of service. The terms of service can’t be a one-time session on what the code is. The JTA needs to help people better assess reliability and validity,” he argued.

While there are legitimate concerns about teacher imports, many present the situation as if this were the first time we would have foreign teachers. But for decades we have had teachers from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, India, Ghana, and Nigeria, among other nationalities. Isn’t it also ironic, even hypocritical, that our higher education system prepares teachers for the international market, but we mock the idea of ​​having international teachers in our system? In addition, there is a melting pot of nationalities teaching in our higher education institutions.

The newly appointed JTA president, Dr Mark Smith, apparently had an epiphany recently, saying that if teachers were paid more, fewer would migrate. But until now, there has been no serious, calculated proposal on what constitutes a living wage. He will undoubtedly have a tough task ahead of him as the JTA and the government enter the next round of negotiations.

But often left out of the conversation is the fact that teachers are also leaving because department heads and school administrators make their jobs harder. The leadership and management of our schools cannot be left out of the conversation.

I also maintain that as soon as there is a demand for teachers, people will continue to take up opportunities abroad. If there were no vacancies abroad, would our people leave? The government will certainly have to improve working conditions and salaries, but we cannot pretend that they will be able to match the packages in these developed countries.

In terms of CXC passes, regional passes appear to be very low in Maths and English this year at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level. While the public awaits the detailed pass breakdown, Jamaica remains the largest English-speaking Caribbean island; therefore, we are certain that many of our students did not do well.

Are we going to talk about these issues every year? What are we going to do to address the high level of illiteracy among our students? On the other hand, the results should not shock us too much, because many of these students are COVID-19 children who have just finished their five-year high school cycle.

Undoubtedly, we, as higher educated people, will continue to see gaps in these students. We need to prepare for this, as we have done all these years.

Modern languages, especially French, have taken a major hit this year. Many of my colleagues are worried about what might have gone wrong in the exams. Students who did well in the CSEC years have ended up failing. Did they not study hard? Were they judged harshly? The concerns are justified, as a student who scored seven Fs and received a grade in French suggests there may be some discrepancies. Nevertheless, we await the in-depth analysis.

One concern is also that students may have devoted much more time to school-based assessment subjects (SBAs) and neglected the language(s). Despite this, it is worth emphasizing that everything students produce in the foreign language exam is largely their own work. The same cannot be said for SBAs, as many students seek outside help or pay someone to complete the SBA for them.

There is clearly a lot to take in as we enter a new academic year, even as many schools are still being renovated due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl. Nevertheless, it is time for all stakeholders to be aware of the realities and come together to improve our education system.

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