No worries
Foreign students already in Jamaica safe from quota scrutiny
Published:Sunday | April 23, 2023 | 2:03 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
WITH THE Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association’s (ISSA) new rules regarding foreign students set to come into being next school year, president Keith Wellington says that those who are already here and competing will not have to worry about the effects of the new guidelines.
The new quota rules that were approved in January and are set to take effect in the next school year will see limits on how many foreign nationals after the age of 16 can participate in ISSA-sanctioned competitions as well as Jamaican students, who transfer to different schools.
For 11-a-side team sports such as football and cricket, schools will be allowed three overseas players with court games, such as basketball and netball, allowed two each. For track and field, each school will be allowed to use two student-athletes per class.
In clarifying the nuances that the new rules present, in an interview with SportsMax last week, Wellington said that those foreign students who are already in Jamaica and who started school during or before the 2022-23 school year will not be impacted.
“If they are already here, meaning that they would have come in September 2022 (or before), it would not apply to them,” Wellington said.
Wellington also addressed the possible perception that Jamaica is shutting out the pathways for their athletes to attend and compete for schools here, emphasising that the rule generalises the practice for both local and foreign nationals.
EXPANDED RESTRICTION
“What we have done is expand the restriction on new students participating in our competitions coming from another secondary school setup. This includes Jamaicans. So there is also a restriction on a boy moving from Lacovia to Maggotty or Maggotty to STETHS,” Wellington said.
“It is nothing to do with nationality per se. It is just that we have now decided to encompass all of these things because what we are trying to do is to ensure that there is a development programme in our schools.”
In an interview with Radio Jamaica Sports on Wednesday, track and field analyst Dwayne Extol disagreed with the new quota rules, saying it seems to restrict the development of talent.
“I don’t think it is based on data. I would love for them to present to us the data that they have been provided to come to this conclusion. It doesn’t say to me inclusivity. It says we want to keep the development to ourselves,” Extol said.
Calabar High principal Albert Corcho says the new quota requirements will also guarantee a level playing field for schools that have fewer resources than others.
“There is nothing wrong with students coming here to participate. What we are saying is based on the decision that some schools have more resources than others. So to level the playing field, this is what we have decided. We too have a few international students and we will abide by the rule,” Corcho said.
More than 100 overseas students from 20 countries competed at the recent ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships.