Letter of the Day | Critical to transform education system

THE EDITOR, Madam:

As a teacher, one who is married to a teacher and a product of Jamaica’s education system, when I look at the crumbling façades of Jamaica’s schools, I am struck by the haunting feeling that they are unprepared to face the future. These institutions, once bastions of knowledge and opportunity, now find themselves trapped in a liminal space, unable to move forward and ill-equipped to confront changes.

Enrolment is dwindling, financial resources are drying up, and the needs of society have shifted beneath the feet of these stagnant monoliths. Like a plant struggling to take root in arid soil, our schools wither, their growth stunted by the rigidity of outdated models and the resistance of those unwilling to heed the call of the new.

But liminality, that in-between state where the old has lost its grip and the new has yet to take form, is not merely a curse to be borne. It is a crucible, a chance for rebirth, if only we have the courage to step into its flames.

Yet, too many of our school leaders remain oblivious to this truth. They whip teachers without end, piling on the stress, crunching deadlines to mark endless papers so they can make numbers meet, that they may satisfy statistics asked for by some administrator living in theory and abstraction. The goal is not actualisation of a child’s potential, but rather, to appear to be doing so. Today’s school leaders are like the proverbial frog in the slowly boiling pot, unaware of the peril until it is too late. And so, our children are left to navigate a system ill-equipped to prepare them for the challenges that await.

It is time for us to shed the shackles of complacency and embrace the uncertainty of this liminal space. We must look beyond the walls of the schools, to industries that have navigated similar transitions, and learn from their successes. We must invest in new technologies, empower our educators, and foster a culture of adaptability and innovation.

Only then can we transform this crisis into an opportunity and a chance to forge an education system that serves the needs of our community, that empowers our youth to shape the future, rather than be shaped by it.

The system is taxed, teachers are overwhelmed and overworked, and continue to die at alarming rates. The pressure comes from top down. The uncertainty at the top is concealed by the downward exertion of power on those at the base of the system. This needs to be amended with immediate effect. Let us not be the guardians of a dying order, but the architects of a bold, new world.

YANNICK PESSOA