Speid wants special attention for students ‘left behind’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Former Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Owen Speid says he is worried about the education of the nation’s children, especially those who got left behind over the past 18 months because of lack of access to technology, which prevented them from participating in virtual classes amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am concerned that these students, especially in the primary and basic schools, will have their literacy and numeracy development hampered,” Speid told The Gleaner in a recent interview.

According to Speid, who is the principal of Rousseau Primary School in Kingston, the situation occurred because of an unfulfilled promise by the Government.

“There was a promise to improve Internet connectivity across the island, but this has been a complete failure,” said the outspoken educator.

Going forward, Speid wants to see a special effort made to locate the ‘left-behind’ students so that they can get the attention needed to put them back on track.

“These students should be found and given priority face-to-face teaching by specialists in numeracy and literacy. If this is not done, they will be failures all the way through their school life,” he said.

However, the educator is quite sceptical that his suggestion will find favour with key stakeholders in the education sector, which is critical to getting such a process off the ground.

“There has to be an acknowledgement of this fact and solutions put in place to minimise the negatives of non-schooling of our nation’s students,” said Spied.

While acknowledging that there is much merit to Speid’s suggestion, Linvern Wright, the president of the Principals of Secondary Schools Association, said a measured approach is needed going forward to ensure that all students are equally served.

“We have to do a careful balancing act, because it could mean sacrificing face-to-face for those who need it to stay focused and learn, too,” said Wright.

Interestingly, the current leadership of the JTA refused to offer an opinion on what Speid said, based on the protocol governing the association.

“The JTA would not counter a former president. As a rule, we do not respond to the comments of our colleagues,” said Leon Nash, the JTA’s public relations officer.