For any country, the productive functioning of its education system is of the greatest priority. In today’s globalised world, competition among countries is inevitable and it is the general quality of education imparted to its citizens, among other things, that will determine which country forges ahead and which lags behind. Former Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair, on gaining office was asked what his three priorities were and he replied, “Education, education and education.” However, it is not education per se but the relevance of that education in meeting the aspirations and expectations of the citizenry and the demands of society. At the outset, I may mention that I make my comments as a critical observer and not as an educational expert.
This country ought to be engaged in a great deal of soul searching as to the performance and effectiveness of the current system and the overall quality of the output. After all, we are expending the not inconsiderable sum of $8.7 billion or 16% of the total Government budget on education. An initial question to be addressed is the philosophy that underpins our system of education because, if the philosophy is flawed, then the system is bound to be deficient. It is necessary to grasp the distinction between education and schooling and the relationship between the two. Schooling provides the guidance and infrastructure with respect to the acquisition of knowledge but education enables one to utilise that knowledge for one’s own advancement and for relating meaningfully to one’s physical, economic and social environment. This may be deemed to be the rounded development of the individual as a hallmark of being a good citizen. The question we should ask is how many of the graduates of our system achieve this status.
It appears to me that certain values should be inculcated throughout the education system whether at pre-school, primary, secondary or tertiary levels. Some of them are discipline, diligence, curiosity, creativity, interdependence and cooperative endeavour. Not all of them can be imbued in the same measure but they need to be represented in the amalgam of influences that are brought to bear in the learning process.
The present system seems to be deficient in promoting the overall development of the individual, which results into many products of the system harbouring narrow perspectives and interests. They relate to their environment in a purely exploitative and self-centered manner. A greater failing is the intense competition that students are forced to engage in at the primary and secondary levels. Competition has its place in that it can spur students to attain higher levels of achievement and excellence. However, the mindless focus on competition and academic prowess converts the system into a rat race and concentrates attention on the 10 or 15 percent of the student population who do well at examinations. The parents themselves are caught up in this unseemly jostle. There is a great deal of hype in the media honouring such successes and the politicians fall over each other in offering congratulations to the students in question and even offering them financial and other support. In the process, the 85 or 90% who are either of average or below average competence tend to be ignored. They are the ones who achieve minimal or failing grades in key subjects such as English, mathematics and science. Not that other subjects should be ignored, but a minimally satisfactory standard in the aforementioned should provide a basic platform for other areas of training in preparation for socio-economic involvement. Therefore, the re-orientation of the system to focus attention on the educational achievement of the majority of the student population has to be an inescapable priority.
If we are to improve the education system, much more attention has to be paid to what goes on in the schools – that is the level of teacher competence and performance and overall school management. Priority has to be given to appropriate teacher training and the encouragement of excellence. It is to be considered as both a profession and a vocation and those found wanting should be eased out of the system. In this regard, the building of schools and physical infrastructure should assume a lower priority. At the primary level, we have an excess of physical capacity. At the secondary level, the greater need is to upgrade existing facilities with selective additions of new structures. And selectivity is of even greater importance at the tertiary level where there has been a splurge of activity without thought as to the value and utility of the education provided. Since tertiary level graduates as a percentage of the cohort population has been historically low, we have tried to dramatically increase it in the shortest possible time and considered it a numbers game without paying attention to the quality of the education.
