I got to thinking the other day about education and how in Jamaica it has grown to be a political football.

It wasn't so much in the early days of course but now oh boy. Every man and his dog has an opinion on it and the more it becomes enshrined the  more it appears to fail. There have  of course been some good things happening and the inclusion of Basic Schools into the state network with the improvement of staff qualifications has to be one of them.

What is education for and what is its purpose? Ignoring the age old Dewy definition which seems to have lost credence I can do no more than point the beloved reader to an article in the Washington Post of February 2015  by Valerie Straus. Its lengthy but comprehensive and if you're interested why not have a read.

So what is the purpose of education in Jamaica in the year of our Lord 2017? In the face of an assessment from the Ministry of Labour and Statin that 12.9 % of our population are unemployed it cannot be that it is to prepare people for the workplace. The rate in the UK is 4.6 % so perhaps it is possible but who believes it? The literacy rate is reckoned to be 87% but again who believes that ?
Is what is happening that we are being fed the figures of the feelgood factor and very little else.

There is no doubt that education in Jamaica is both Classist and Elitist. As one ventures further away from the hub of Kingston the quality of education declines. Of course there are hot spots of dedication elsewhere but that is where the main focus lies. The Ministry concentrates most of it efforts at the hub and the rest appear to be left to run with it.

But isn't the purpose of education to equip every child with the tools to become a productive citizen and in doing so to achieve for themselves a reasonable standard of living at minimum so that as they progress and grow through life. Isn't the real function of education to provide a platform from where they can not only build their dream but follow it.  Not everyone is going to be a hot shot lawyer or a doctor or any other of the named favourites .We are thank god all different and what suits one will not suit another.Many for example will not want to or not be able to dedicate the years of study towards their individual goals.

But do you see that is how are system is set up. It is engineered so that those who have the wherewithal can educate their children to whatever level has been decided even sometimes to the detriment of the child themselves. Of course there are the occasional heavy hitters who come piling out of the woodwork, those selected because of their brilliant academic record in the the face of adversity. How many of those has the system actually prepared to take up those scarce benefits or does their once brilliance get dashed on the rocks.

Amongst all of this we promote the merits of a tertiary education as if that is an accolade and even in that there is a system of graduation. The 'best' universities the 'best' courses and of course the 'best' outcome. Where are the artisans in all this and why are we continuing to produce graduates when there is no job for them. Where are the trades that are needed to drive the economy forward. The engineers the plumbers, electricians,welders  mechanics. Where are the people whose job it is to tighten up the nuts and bolts of society. I submit that it is they who are lacking and here is why.

We have amongst us a new government with a very slim majority. So slim that whilst they might have rewritten history they didn't expect to win. When chance fell in their direction it wouldn't have taken much imagination to realise that they were as shocked by the result as were the PNP and everyone else. It took simply ages for them to put new boards and engage the party faithful in the new regime and to some extent they are still doing it well over a year later.  After so long in the political wilderness the determination,  having seized power to hold it is evident and a whole raft of new measures have been introduce to do just that. What is evident however is the people with the technical skills, the nuts and bolts people and the administrators are simply not there in the quantity required. That is poor planning not just by the present government but those previous.

Jamaican education is failing badly despite the sterling efforts of some. The learning by rote instead of understanding  the practicality of what is required has produced a cohort who basically are incapable of thought and reasoning and that's is those who are finishing education not those who are left behind in the 4th grade. Unless radical changes are made we will be importing labour to carry out the simplest of tasks whilst our 'elite' kid themselves that they are doing a great job, when in  fact they are not.