Dennis Minott | Putrid wounds afflicting Ministry of Education

In recent years, actions by schools like Immaculate Conception High School (ICHS), Westwood High School, and Titchfield High have caused significant harm to some of Jamaica’s brightest female students. What is most disheartening, however, is the Ministry of Education and Youth’s (MOEY) continued complacency in allowing these institutions to enforce draconian measures that run contrary to the spirit of enlightened national educational policies.

Despite clear mandates designed to make education accessible and continuous for all, the ministry has allowed these schools to sidestep their responsibility to nurture the next generation of female leaders, thereby perpetuating a dangerous elitism that is eroding the foundation of Jamaican education.

This troubling trend has persisted for decades, and I personally witnessed its impact in the late 1980s. I vividly recall a phone call from Pam Harrison, then principal of Wolmer’s High School for Girls (WHSG), regarding three students–twins and another girl–who had been denied entry into the sixth form at ICHS. These young women had completed their fifth form at Immaculate with commendable grades, and yet, for reasons beyond comprehension, they were effectively expelled from continuing their education there. Harrison, recognising their potential, requested my assistance through A-QUEST. Together with WHSG’s head of guidance and counselling, I met with the girls and their parents. Despite their obvious distress, these students were academically sound, well-rounded individuals involved in extracurricular activities. They met all of A-QUEST’s rigorous standards, and we accepted them into our programme.

What stood out in this case was the profound compassion shown by WHSG. The school, recognising the financial strain the families were under, paid the girls’ A-QUEST fees using what they referred to as “canteen money”–funds intended for more practical expenses but repurposed to secure the girls’ futures. This act of generosity ensured that these students were not left behind due to a flawed decision by ICHS. Ultimately, the twins secured scholarships to prestigious American universities. I insisted they attend separate institutions to maximise their individual opportunities. Both returned to Jamaica and became senior public servants. The third girl earned first class honours and later became a Rhodes scholar—the first of 11 A-QUEST protégés to achieve this honour.

Another ICHS alumna coached by A-QUEST attended Wesleyan University before going to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, and she too returned to Jamaica, where she served as a high-level public servant before leading CAPRI. The girl who joined the twins is now a tenured professor and department chair at one of America’s top universities. This early experience with WHSG remains a poignant example of how impactful decisions can be when driven by empathy rather than elitism–something sorely lacking in the fetid little pools of grandiose narcissism bedevilling ICHS, Westwood, and Titchfield today.

EXCLUSIONARY PRACTICES

Fast forward to 2024, and the same exclusionary practices that denied those three girls a chance to continue at ICHS are still at play. David Salmon’s article, ‘Cowardice in the face of an Immaculate reputation’, highlights the egregious case of a lower sixth-form student who was barred from continuing her studies at ICHS due to a Grade IV in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) food and nutrition. This, despite her receiving Grade I in both computer science and digital media and a Grade II in communication studies. In defending the decision, Principal Stacy Reynolds emphasized that “standards are set and there are expectations.” However, if these “standards” permit a student with four Grade III’s to advance while denying a student with better overall results, then the standards are not just flawed–they are unjust.

Further complicating this issue is the inflexibility of ICHS in considering extenuating circumstances. What if a student, for example, learns of a family member’s death just before sitting an exam? Would ICHS then defend a Grade IV as grounds for expulsion? The lack of discretion in such matters shows not just a failure of empathy but a failure of leadership. Instead of supporting this capable young woman, who had previously earned six Grade I’s and two Grade II’s in her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, ICHS chose to exile her over one imperfect grade.

Principal Reynolds, in her peculiar arrogance, even offered a hollow gesture–a letter of recommendation for the student to continue elsewhere. This is akin to saying, “She’s not good enough for us, but she might be for someone else.” Such elitism does nothing but undermine the very fabric of Jamaica’s education system. How many more promising students will be abandoned by schools clinging to a disgusting sense of superiority?

GREATEST BETRAYAL

But perhaps the greatest betrayal of all is the MOEY’s failure to enforce its own policies. The Sixth Form Pathways Programme (SFPP), introduced by Fayval Williams, mandates that high school now extends to seven years, with no student being excluded from advancing from grades 11 to 13. Despite this, the Ministry has taken no meaningful action against ICHS or any other school engaged in this practice. By hiding behind technicalities–that the SFPP does not explicitly require automatic promotion to upper sixth–the Ministry has allowed schools like ICHS, Westwood, and Titchfield to perpetuate their harmful exclusionary practices, all in the name of maintaining their elitist reputations.

Westwood and Titchfield, much like ICHS, have also engaged in similar gatekeeping, routinely barring students from advancing despite their clear academic potential. These institutions seem more concerned with their perceived prestige than with the actual development of their students. What is perhaps most disheartening is that the Ministry, tasked with overseeing and ensuring equitable education for all, continues to bend to the will of these schools, allowing them to cherry-pick which students they deem worthy of continuing their education.

If the Ministry’s policies mean anything, then it must step in. It must ensure that schools like ICHS, Westwood, and Titchfield are held accountable for their actions and that no student is denied the opportunity to continue their education simply because they fell short in one subject. The Ministry has the power and the responsibility to enforce the SFPP and protect Jamaica’s students from the elitism that threatens to choke their potential.

Education is supposed to be the great equalizer–the pathway through which all students can realise their fullest potential. Yet the actions of these schools, condoned by a Ministry unwilling to enforce its own policies, are doing the exact opposite. They are shutting doors on students who, given the right support, could go on to achieve greatness–just as those three girls from ICHS did, with the help of WGS, A-QUEST, and a little bit of “canteen money.”

The Ministry of Education and Youth must act decisively to protect the rights of students and ensure that no child is left behind because of elitist and exclusionary practices. Anything less is a betrayal of Jamaica.

Dennis Minott, PhD, is the CEO of A-QuEST-FAIR. He is a multilingual green resources specialist, a research physicist, and a modest mathematician who worked in the oil and energy sector. Send feedback to a_quest57@yahoo.com or columns@gleanerjm.com