Patterson Commission backs overhaul of Education Code

The Code of Regulations, which adjudicates on all aspects of the education system in Jamaica, is in need of urgent legislative surgery, according to the Professor Orlando Patterson-led committee in its report to the Government.

Without immediate remedies, Patterson, the John Cowles Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, believes that the country will forever be chasing system-wide accountability without success.

Patterson, at the outset, outlined the terms of reference.

“The prime minister’s terms of reference to our commission can be summed up in this single charge: recommend the guidelines to correct this chronic failure in the institution to which we have devoted so much of our national resources and energy.”

SYSTEM WEAKNESSES

Outlining a slew of weaknesses system-wide, he urged immediate legislative remedies but was skeptical of any movement as it is was unimpressed with the Government’s “less than stellar performance in relation to legislative matters” and discussion on changes for the last 18 years.

The committee said a complete rewrite was necessary.

“In relation to the Education Code, there have been years of discussion regarding amendments, but there has been little progress in passing these amendments. The committee recommends a complete rewrite of the Education Code in the medium term, but given the Government of Jamaica’s less than stellar performance in relation to legislative matters, the committee concluded that at a minimum, the Education Code should be amended with focus on the priority areas for amendment as outlined in Section 5 of this report. The key areas of amendment to the regulations were grouped into six heads: accountability; teacher performance; technology; health and safety; early childhood provisions; and elimination of discriminatory policies”, writes the committee in the 310-page draft report seen by The Gleaner.

Continuing, it said: “All recommendations of the committee were developed through an examination of the local context as well as a review of global best practice. It is imperative that the amendments to the education regulations be fast-tracked to ensure that the education sector has the legislative infrastructure to accommodate the new academic and institutional landscape. This imperative has become more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Past education ministers have been frustrated by resistance to amendment efforts.

Former Education Ministers Maxine Henry Wilson and Ronald Thwaites said efforts to make changes were resisted in what was considered professional nit-picking. In its current form, Thwaites said it was a nightmare to hold teachers accountable. Although weaknesses have been acknowledged for years by operators in the sector, remedies have not been effected.

Current Minister Fayval Williams has already signalled her intention to effect changes in the way principals are hired. Dismissal of teachers and administrators is an albatross of the regulations. All hirings are done by school boards, with political representatives having a say in the leadership. Holness, who was himself education minister, had similar frustrations.

Highlighting teacher performance and evaluation, the report finds the system heavily teacher centred. Although there were high levels of teacher-training upgrades, desired results were not being achieved.

Prioritise teacher performance and evaluation needs

At Section 5.2.2 Teacher Performance, Patterson writes: “With the review of the proposed amendments to the Education Regulations, the committee concluded that greater emphasis on teacher performance and evaluation needs to be prioritised in the process. Thus, it is recommended that greater emphasis be placed on regulating the process utilised to assess teachers. This will include clearly stating the key performance indicators that must be attained by teachers as well as impact on the student and their performance.”

Addressing another contentious area for immediate attention, said Patterson, is the disciplinary process as outlined in the regulations.

“The teacher disciplinary procedure must be outlined and prioritised for implementation. The disciplinary procedure must be in keeping with the laws of natural justice. There should also be sufficient regulation for on-boarding acting teachers to fill in for teachers when they’re are on leave.” The gloomy findings of the report did not measure the impact of COVID, but it was in fact hampered by the global pandemic.

In the preface, Patterson writes:

“In doing so, however, we were immediately faced with another crisis: the global COVID-19 pandemic. As all the commission members have noted, COVID has magnified the many shortcomings and inequities in the system. However, the timing of the commission made it difficult to thoroughly study its impact: a full accounting is still to be known, and the data to measure its damage yet to be collected. Nonetheless, to the degree possible, the commission has tracked its influence and has recognised that behind the devastation, there are silver linings such as the rapid learning of online teaching and the provision of Internet resources. The Teaching and Curriculum Committee, in particular, has also found that the crisis has led to a greater awareness and appreciation of the role of teachers and of the importance of parents, the local community, and out-of-school factors for the efficient running of our schools. These unexpected gains have informed many of our recommendations, which indicate the ways in which what was learned, of necessity, can be maintained and better built when life returns to normalcy.”

Meanwhile, a recommendation that a body similar to that of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), which monitors the implementation of Jamaica’s economic reform measures under its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), be established immediately. The 11-member body for the financial sector has public, private, and civil society personnel who receive and assess information from the Government. It tracks the progress of targets under the precautionary standby agreement with IMF and holds government to set targets. Professor Patterson said reforms needed are a “national priority. The reform of the education sector should be designated an area of national priority, and a structure similar to EPOC should be implemented (short term). The Education Progress Commission (formal name to be determined) should be responsible for monitoring the implementation of Jamaica’s education reform measures. This body should develop annual work plans with targets and should prepare quarterly and annual reports that outline achievements against targets. This committee should have dedicated resources and institutional support, and the performance reports should be publicly available,” said the report.

Cabinet is discussing the findings and it is expected to be tabled shortly.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com