The following issues (in addition to teacher training discussed earlier [Jan 16]) came out of the deliberations of an education discussion group to which I belong.

External assessment of schools

The United Kingdom Office for Standards in the Education (Ofsted) system could be used as a model for external assessment of schools. The inspectors are evaluated and approved and certified by Ofsted. The reports are available on the Ofsted website.

 The following is taken from the Ofsted inspection framework document: “ Inspection provides an independent, external evaluation of the quality and standards of the school. Inspectors must tell the school what it does well and what it needs to do to improve. They must explain how and why they have come to their conclusions. They also look at whether or not the school has improved since its previous inspection”.

“Inspectors sit in classrooms while teaching is in progress, examine the marking of homework by the teachers and question pupils to determine the level of their achievement. Inspectors also assess the examination passes particularly in relation to those of previous years. They assess the effectiveness of the administration of the school and comment on the performance of the School Boards.

Further, they assess the relationship between the school and the community in which it is located. The physical environment of the school is assessed as are behaviour patterns of students and discipline in the school”.

“The published inspection report and summary inform governors of school boards, parents, the school and the wider community about the quality of education at the school and whether pupils achieve as much as they can. The inspection team's findings provide a measure of accountability and help the school to manage improvement.

Periodic external inspection should be complemented by continuous internal evaluation. Transparency in the inspection process and the publication of the inspection framework are also aimed at promoting a culture of rigorous self-evaluation and improvement”

If necessary inspectors could also be recruited from neighbouring Caricom countries, but in any case they should be knowledgeable of, but not be in too close association with, the Catholic school system.

In the a series of five articles in the Express referred to earlier I discussed the above issues and also the following: Teachers Salaries, Training of Supervisors and Curriculum Developers, a Professional organisation of teachers, Lunch Rooms at schools, Study Centres, Research on education, Counsellors in schools, Parent/Teacher Associations, Language, Special education needs, Size of classes and teaching of Geography as a core subject; however space does not allow treatment of these issues in this series.

To conclude, I believe that in many ways this country can be said to be in crisis. I further believe that it would be almost impossible to change this generation, but we must nevertheless try to do so. However I do believe that if the next generation is properly educated we could turn out school graduates who could think constructively, who would have high ethical values and who can change our society.

I am convinced that by (a) improvement in our methods of recruiting and training teachers,(b) changes in the courses offered to teachers at the relevant institutions and (c) insisting that no teacher be allowed to face a classroom of pupils without training in pedagogy, substantial improvements could be made in our educational system.

The Catholic Church could play a major role in bringing about such changes. The Church has responsibility for a large section of the education system at primary and secondary level and therefore cannot escape some responsibility if the system is failing the country.

The early involvement of the Church in education in this country filled a vacuum and provided education to those who otherwise would have received none at all.

At that time only a favoured few were able to receive this education and, particularly at secondary level, it was mainly the brighter pupils who were able to participate. So through no fault of the Church, its involvement at secondary level was elitist and the measure of success became the winning of scholarships.

As secondary education became more universal over time the system has become distorted so that a disproportionate quantity of the resources at some Catholic secondary schools (particularly the boys' schools) go to potential scholarship winners. Thus the less brilliant students who have the potential to become the backbone of any society are disadvantaged. 

In any event does not the Christian faith motivate those who have the power to do so to assist those in greater need rather than those who by their God-given talents will succeed with less help?

The present system at some Catholic schools should be stood on its head! In other words the approach in Catholic schools should be to have small classes for less talented students and larger classes for the talented students. Students often learn their behaviour patterns from actions outside the classrooms in schools.

The present arrangements at Catholic schools are sending a powerful message to young pupils at these schools that those with God-given academic talents are being given special treatment over those less gifted academically.

Two years ago young doctors exhibited a great deal of selfishness when they were prepared to allow poor members of the community to go without medical attention while they bargained for higher emoluments.

I regret to state that this attitude may well have been learned at “prestige” schools where many of them would have been scholarship candidates accustomed to expect an unfair proportion of society's resources!

The Catholic News wrote at least five editorials in 2003 expressing concern with the state of education (January 12, March 23, July 6, July 27 and September 7). Also Fr Gerald Pantin has written an excellent article that made proposals for the characteristics of a revitalised education system.

In the Catholic News of August 31, 2003 , it was reported that Catholic secondary schools now come under the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM), which previously dealt only with Catholic primary schools.

Since Catholic primary and secondary schools make up a very substantial part of our educational system this development provides a golden opportunity for the CEBM to introduce a review system, such as the Ofsted system, for the schools under its supervision.

In a previous article I suggested that if the education system has failed the denominational school boards cannot escape some responsibility since they play an important role in the system. In this regard I was heartened to read in a report of the statement of Roman Catholic Archbishop Edward Gilbert and the Catholic Commission for Social Justice ( Catholic News August 17, 2003 ) the suggestion that the education system must be reviewed as part of the effort to address the high crime rate in this country. I quote below relevant extracts from that statement:

“However, the government must review the education system to determine how it can be re-organised to meet the needs of all our young people so that some do not become disaffected and turn to crime” and “It is clear, however, that among those students who attend our schools there are some who have already turned to crime. Current school intervention strategies must address this issue and must address the needs of socially displaced children, of whom there is a growing number.” 

A review of current provision for those who do attend schools needs to be undertaken to determine whether sufficient funding is budgeted for and allocated to schools to provide, for example, supply teachers, guidance counsellors, social workers, classroom assistants, remedial teachers, school psychologists, and classrooms that are not small and overcrowded”.

While I am in full agreement with these statements I would make the following comments. Since family life is in such a poor state and the likelihood of achieving substantial change in this generation is not very great, let us ensure that the character of our schools is such that the next generation is better prepared for a good family life.

This puts an extra responsibility on teachers who in many instances need to offer to students a preparation for life that under normal circumstances would be the responsibility of parents. And I entirely agree that this must mean providing for all of the needs referred to in the statement (as quoted above ).

I want to suggest that it is not good enough only to suggest that the Government must review the education system. The denominational school boards should initiate the process of review in their own schools. I am of the opinion that an impartial and objective review of the denominational schools will reveal that the deficiencies are much greater than supposed.

In the Catholic News for October 31, 2004 are listed the Resolutions from the Synod 2003. Under the heading “Schools” is the following: “ Be it resolved –that preference must be given to Catholic students for admission.”

If this were done at the “prestige” schools instead of the present practice of accepting the highest on the SEA pass list, a number of students who need “good” schooling to succeed would be helped. That is if the changes are made in the schools' policy of giving undue attention to scholarship candidates to the disadvantage of pupils in the lower forms.

The brighter students will succeed at whichever school they attend. Some negotiation with the Ministry of Education may be necessary to achieve enrolment of pupils from amongst the lower performers in SEA whether they are Catholic or not.

Recently a student at a Catholic “prestige” school was allowed to repeat A-Levels in spite of having won a National scholarship in order to win an Open scholarship. By so doing some other student was deprived of an opportunity to enter Sixth form at that school.

The issue of Sixth formers repeating to win scholarships thus depriving other students of a Sixth form place was referred to recently by the principal of a secondary school for girls.

In an article in the November 7, 2004 issue of the Catholic News on “The Ideal Catholic School” does not discuss the issues raised in these articles. Some of the issues discussed in this paper can be tackled directly by the Catholic Church in its own schools. Other issues will require that the Church persuade the government to act.

The Church could play a leadership role in reforming the education system. No doubt the Church leadership has the insight and moral authority to make the necessary changes in Catholic schools and the to persuade government to follow this leadership.