Where is the Patterson report?
Brown Burke backs school-year extension
Published:Thursday | March 18, 2021 | 12:28 AM
Opposition Spokesperson on Education Dr Angela Brown Burke has called for the Professor Orlando Patterson Education Commission to break its silence and present its recommendations and findings on the sector as was promised.
Brown Burke recalled that Prime Minister Andrew Holness had promised that by March 2021, a report would have been produced.
“I really want to know, what they have been doing?” Brown Burke questioned at a People’s National Party post-Budget press conference on Wednesday.
She also questioned if the education ministry was benefiting from any of the expert opinions of the commission.
“I believe it is high time that somebody says something to our parents, our teachers, and our students,” declared the spokeswoman.
In the meantime, Brown Burke has thrown support behind Education Minister Fayval Williams’ proposal that the school year be extended.
“I do support an extension of the school year, but I think it is extremely important to bear in mind that the ministry can’t make these decisions unliterally,” Brown Burke stated.
ANTICIPATING SUMMER HOLIDAYS
Her declaration comes days after president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Jasford Gabriel, said there was no support from his organisation for the extension of the academic year.
“Teachers have already made plans and are especially looking forward to this summer break,” Gabriel told The Gleaner.
The education minister had announced that there would be an increase in the number of school days in this academic year for grade six students to sit the ability test component of the Primary Exit Profile examination on May 26.
Williams said the extension is to administer diagnostic tests to identify the gaps in learning that will have to be addressed once students matriculate to the secondary level.
“This diagnostic instrument will be administered by classroom teachers ... . This would require, however, that the number of school days be increased,” said Williams.
“The technical staff is preparing a retention document to lay out what criteria we will use to determine which students are retained in their current class. Once that is prepared, we will consult with our stakeholders, and, of course, this will be communicated to all Jamaicans,” she further stated.
Weighing in on the COVID-19-induced crisis, Brown Burke lamented the scale of learning loss across the board. She particularly empathised with educators.
“I spoke to a teacher the day before yesterday who told me that she was just simply tired.
“Every time you make a decision of that nature, it means that they have to it, recast what they are doing, and every time you do it, it deflates the energy and passion of what persons are doing,” stated Brown Burke.
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