Letter of the Day | Students must be literate to teach themselves

THE EDITOR Madam:

Jamaica is haemorrhaging teachers at an alarming rate. The Ministry of Education, conscious of the gravity of this issue, is making efforts to recruit teachers from abroad to fill these vacancies; however, this is only a temporary solution.

It is almost certain that many of these international recruits, after gaining experience in Jamaican classrooms, will move on – either returning to their home countries or going to other countries where they will be even better compensated.

Caught up in this vicious cycle are Jamaican students who, now more than ever, desperately need the skills that will enable them to become self-directed learners. Chief among these skills is literacy.

A student who can read critically, comprehend and apply concepts presented in writing or orally will fare better in this context of persistent teacher migration, which is most acute at the high school level. However, the frightening reality presented in the Orlando Patterson report remains – the majority of students emerge illiterate from primary school.

ASSAULT ON ILLITERACY AT EARLY CHILDHOOD

Unfortunately, too many primary schools, like my own, have teachers struggling to juggle teaching the core curriculum while simultaneously trying to tackle literacy challenges. The sad truth is that many of these students deemed illiterate do not have learning disabilities but simply did not get the focused attention required to address some fundamental issues at the lower levels.

To ensure that the majority of our population is satisfactorily educated, we must begin the assault on illiteracy at the early childhood level. The Ministry of Education, even from the limited human resources that we have, must ensure that every infant and primary school has a dedicated literacy teacher to support students in acquiring this essential skill.

Literacy is the key to ensure continued and independent learning in the face of massive teacher shortages.

MARIA MUTIDJO

Principal

St Richard’s Primary School