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The following is the full speech of Dr Angela Brown Burke, Opposition Member of Parliament for South West St Andrew, during her contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Wednesday, June 1:

Madam Speaker, as I speak today, I hold front and centre the dream of Jamaicans of all ages, income groups, religious beliefs, and political persuasions. Fulfilling that dream, especially as we mark 60 years of independence, requires our collective commitment to excellence in education. To that end, we on this side of the house are determined to see Jamaica as a country where every child is empowered with literacy and numeracy skills, every youth with skills for the careers of their choice and every citizen confident in their abilities and proud of their Jamaican-ness. 

Introduction 

I start by giving thanks to the creator whose mercy and grace have kept me. 

Madam Speaker, I am here today because the residents of South West St Andrew, based on the recommendation of Sista P (Portia Simpson Miller), welcomed me into their homes and in their hearts. Their continued guidance and support have enabled me to serve them faithfully and courageously. 

To my constituency committee, community leaders, staff at the office and the team that keeps me on the road: my CPO and driver. A world of gratitude. 

Madam Speaker, my admiration and respect for Opposition [Leader] Mark Golding continues to grow as I work with him in defence of the rights of the Jamaican people. Leader, thanks for entrusting me with the education and training portfolio. 

To my colleagues on both sides of the house, thanks for your guidance and collegiality. 

Madam Speaker, please allow me at this time to extend heartfelt sympathies on behalf of the entire Opposition to the immediate families, friends and school families on the passing, over the last few weeks, of members of the teaching community—Gregory Williams, lecturer at the Portmore Community College; Ann Marie Johnson Lindo, vice-principal of Duncans All-Age School; Antoinette Banton-Ellis, principal of Vere Technical High; Carlos Gordon, teacher of One Way Prep; Donnalee Wright of Tarrant High; Jennifer Gidden, acting principal of Charlemont High; and Amory Tomlinson, of Black River High—may their souls rest in peace and may their families be comforted. 

I’d also like to pay tribute to those teachers, students and parents that we have lost since I last spoke in the debate in 2021, whether it was as a direct result of COVID-19 or not. 

Madam Speaker, the last 12 months have been traumatic for many Jamaicans, so allow me to lift my proverbial hat to our teachers and guidance counsellors who have had to quickly improve or learn new skills to meet the demands of a changing teaching and learning environment. 

Today, Madam Speaker, I am called to make a response to the budget presented and, in particular, to look at where we are and how we proceed in education. Let me repeat what has often been said in this debate: “the current budget has not adequately reflected the urgency of the education crisis in which we find ourselves as a country.” 

The Leader of Opposition is spot on when he says that Jamaica “is a deeply unequal society divided into the have and the have nots and that this budget will perpetuate and indeed worsen that inequality.” 

Many Jamaicans, caught on the wrong side of this equality metre, are feeling the full force of the inequality and unfairness meted out to them. Madam Speaker, as we on this side engage Jamaicans all across the country, we see a clear picture emerging: the need for fundamental changes in our society. They tell us that they want to live in a country where everyone can achieve a reasonable quality of life, where everyone, not just a few, can genuinely say “Jamaica Nice”. 

This, Madam Speaker, is their dream and the current circumstances demand that the Government of Jamaica “cushion the crisis” and take their proverbial boots off the necks of our families, our children, and our future. 

The Current State of Education 

In 2004, the Davies Report outlined what was needed to achieve Education Vision 2030. In 2019, the Patterson Report echoed similar findings and recommendations. 

While there have been some improvements, the system has been stymied by slow or no implementation, underfunding and lack of resources of the central ministry, which prevent the regions and schools from innovating and creating new and exciting pathways of learning and achievement for all our children. 

Failure to implement some of the most revolutionary aspects of Rae Davies’ Report has led to the system’s underperformance. I want to remind you, Madam Speaker, that this reformation envisaged by Davies has not taken place over the past 17 years; 11 of these years were during your government’s term in office, under your watch! 

Madam Speaker, in order to build back better, I want to raise three imperatives found in the joint UNESCO/UNICEF/World Bank report ‘The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery‘: 

1. Addressing the learning data crisis; The lack of easily accessible data that’s current, organised and can be used for the basis of planning for our children is worrying. This is indeed one of the gifted opportunities that your ministry has simply missed. 

2. Addressing socio-emotional losses is a priority. In fairness, I think that promoting well-being and psychosocial support needed has been on the lips of many in education since schools reopened. But the report goes further, indicating that “Teachers need to be adequately equipped and trained to support the holistic needs of children. We believe that all our teachers should be supported and prepared to offer remedial education and provide mental health and psychosocial support to deal with the emotional and behavioural crises in the classroom. They should also have opportunities to acquire advanced skills in online teaching and learning. 

3. Meeting the need for evidence-based strategies to drive learning recovery programs; Building back better requires that countries “measure how effective their policy responses are at mitigating learning loss and analyse their impact on equity – and then to use what they learn to keep improving”. 

Under a PNP government, we would undoubtedly find ways as a matter of priority to respond to these imperatives and ‘cushion the crisis’ faced by our teachers in the education sector. 

Context

The Patterson report indicates that based on the 2019 PEP results, “41% of those sitting the exams passed Mathematics, 49% passed Science, and 55% passed Language Arts.” 

A deeper look at the 2019 PEP performance revealed an even more harrowing story of underperformance. 

➢ “33% cannot read or can barely do so;

 ➢ 56% cannot write or can barely write;

 ➢ 58% cannot find info on a topic or barely can. 

Madam Speaker, with these statistics, we don’t need a crystal ball to tell us that secondary education is also in trouble. The World Bank Report (2018) also indicated that at 18 years old, our high school graduates would have spent 11.7 years in preprimary, primary, and secondary. Still, when the period is adjusted for quality learning, the 11.7 years is really the equivalent of 7.2 years. 

One of the most damning statements made in the Patterson Report, which I think has probably shaken many of us from our denial, is that “far too many students at the end of primary school remain illiterate and innumerate, and most leave secondary school with no marketable skills.” 

In fact, only 28 per cent passed five or more subjects, including English and Mathematics. This is a far cry from where we would hope to be and certainly not in keeping with the vision, we all espouse. Naturally, this low performance also affects what happens at the tertiary level. 

We should be ashamed of these figures in this our 60th year of independence in a country led by a post-independent prime minister!!!! Madam Speaker, this dismal but accurate picture painted by the Education Transformation Commission is even more alarming when we consider that this was before the pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19: Lessons learned from the pandemic 

Our principals and teachers on the ground have been sharing their experiences during the pandemic.

Multilateral organisations and other institutions have invested in the research during this period and their reports are available. When we compare these findings there is convergence around fundamental issues. 

The inequality wedge has widened but many of our teachers, principals and parents have come up with creative and effective solutions and we have learned that: 

1.  Online learning did not work for the majority of our students as children from vulnerable families were less likely to benefit from online learning than their peers, because of issues with connectivity, available devices and parental/ family support; 
2. Parents & teachers/caregivers of younger children and children with disabilities often found no consistent policy responses to their education and development needs; 
3. There is an urgent need for sustainable flexible teacher training opportunities to enable our teachers to navigate the new landscape confidently and competently. 

Ministry of Education and Youth response

For the first 18- 24 months of this pandemic, the Ministry of Education’s message was that 60 per cent or more of our students were doing well with remote learning. Madame Speaker, the Opposition has been very interested in the 40 per cent or four of every 10 children who did not do well. 

We are also interested in getting some clean data about the performance of the 60 per cent of children who are said to have done well. And Madame Speaker, at this point we would wish to see all of the data analysed by gender. We know that our system has underperformed where our boys are concerned, and we need to know what the reality is; no more half-truths and being economical with the truth, we must rescue our boys. 

Madam Speaker, we have been asking for greater detail about the 120,000 students that were reported as being disengaged or lost to education. We were informed that approximately 30,000 were still missing. Madam Speaker, I am the first to insist that parents have a responsibility in the education of their children. 

But in this case, we must look at the reasons behind the absences: children employed and earning, helping to defray the costs of providing for a family.

What do you say to a student who says he is not registered for any external exams, so why should he go back to school now, when he is actually earning? What do you say to parents who have lost their jobs and their daily hustle can’t put food on the table, but their children are now picking up the slack? Can you imagine how distressed these parents must be? 

This certainly could not have been the dream they had for young Chelsea at 14 to be pregnant and out of school nor for Raheim to be rubbing out his hand middle with the youths on the corner? 

How wicked and uncaring can this Government be such that the first thought is about penalising the parent? What about providing guidance and support to these youngsters? What about cushioning the crisis for them and their families and helping them lift their heads above water? What agencies have been asked to intervene to deal with the specific circumstances? 

Madam Speaker, the financial position of many families, is dire and not to be taken lightly. The involvement of any of these youngsters in illicit activities cannot go unattended, and intervention is required long before penal action is considered. 

Madam Speaker, I was highly impressed by the principals and teachers in Portland. Some 90 per cent of their students have returned to school. Here is a lesson for the Ministry of Education and other schools. The principals report that most of those not returning are students in grades 10-13 who are now earning, some with skills that they are putting to use. 

GOJ budget allocation: Priorities revealed 

Madam Speaker, it is true that the percentage of the budget spent on education meets international benchmarks, but what is also true is that the poor performance at different levels is a great cause for concern. 

The Opposition believes it is crucial to identify all contributing factors to ensure appropriate policy responses. We believe, for example, that weak performance is not only about teacher qualification; it is also about ensuring that they have the needed tools. It is also about getting value for money, cutting waste from agencies and ensuring those who lead understand their fiduciary responsibilities; 

Madam Speaker, as I examined the capital expenditure for education, I was moved to compare the allocation to this important sector with that of the national security. Over three budget years, the GOJ has budgeted $20.8 billion on national security infrastructure while only putting $2.7 billion into education infrastructure. 

Fiscal period	Education	National Security
2020-2021	J$633 million	$9.9 billion
2021-2022	$768 million	$8.0 billion
2022-2023	$1.3 billion	$6.9 billion

These numbers make it clear where our priority lies, and clearly, that’s not education.

The Public Expenditure Review of the Education Sector in Jamaica (2021) indicates that “over the last six years, capital expenditure has been two per cent of total education spending, which is low.”

The vast differences in the infrastructural provision of classroom spaces, science laboratories, technical and vocational facilities, bathroom and sports facilities and co-curricular activities all contribute to the lingering inequalities in education. 

Madame Speaker, when this government had the resources to invest in educational infrastructure to transform the system, what did they spend the money on? Where did the billions of dollars end up? 

Madam Speaker, this year’s allocation to the capital budget of $1.3 billion funds ongoing programmes. Some date as far back as 2015.

Necessary, but these are NOT new programs. These projects provide additional classrooms, fencing, admin blocks, auditorium, bathroom upgrades etc. They would also include projects that were not done last year but do not include any new project contemplated since COVID-19 and any requirements that would have been identified. We have not seen new initiatives being funded that will put us on the road to resetting education and eliminating systemic bias and inequity. 

The Patterson Report on investment in the infrastructure of tertiary level institutions misses the mark by far.

“TER4.6: To correct extremely low capital investment over past decades, a capital investment fund should be established and seeded with J$2billion, to be distributed through competition, with emphasis on changes in the use of technology in the administration of the institutions as well as the delivery of programmes.” 

We, on this side, believe that there needs to be a capital investment in tertiary level institutions before anything slightly competitive is introduced. And if the Government wants to know where to get the funds from; just look at the national security line.

This same Public Expenditure report recommended support for health and safety requirements for reopening of the school; re-enrollment campaign and outreach activities for those disengaged or lost to the system; targeted support for the most at-risk students; program to mitigate and prevent dropout and facilitation of remedial education to minimise learning loss. 

Madam Speaker, they estimated that these activities could cost $2.4 -$3.9 billion annually for the next one-to-two years. At the same time, Madam Speaker, they estimated the cost of inaction at $828 billion. Madam Speaker, I am sure you would agree with me everything about this budget in relation to education spells INACTION.

During the Finance Committee, examining the 2022-2023 Budget, I was pleased to see the additional $1 billion to the recurrent expenditure in education. When I sought clarity from the minister, she was unequivocal that this simply reflected increased remuneration to current staff. 

I note that the Early Childhood sector has been allocated $5.1 billion in the budget, an increase of $278 million, with 67 per cent of the funding directed at staff salaries and associated costs. There is also another 28 per cent that is required for salaries, nutrition, and materials, but that total sum is actually less than what was allocated last year (2021-22). 

Madam Speaker, there is no new funding for investing in and developing this foundational sector that is currently falling apart. 

Madam Speaker, needless to say, this is of great concern to the Opposition. 

As an administration, we will build a true and genuine partnership with our teachers and principals, understanding that nothing we do can supersede the knowledge and experience in the field and their ability to find solutions for the problems being faced. 

We will ensure a culturally relevant curriculum in line with the modern world—technologically driven, with knowledge-based systems, STEAM curriculum.

As we look to celebrate 60 years as an independent country, in this the Decade for People of African Descent focused on recognition, justice and development, we make a solemn pledge to work with all stakeholders to ensure we eliminate the systemic inequities premised on social class and shadeism, that prevent our children from fulfilling their full potential. 

Realising the ‘vision’

Based on our Education Vision for Jamaica 2030, “The average student who completes high school would have acquired work certification, mastery of standard Jamaican English language, a foreign language, mathematics, a science subject, and information technology. That student would also have participated in sports and the arts, be aware and proud of our local culture and possess excellent interpersonal skills and workplace attitudes.”

Madam Speaker, I would understand if you were excited to hear me express this vision. In fact, so was I until I stepped back into reality. This is a well-articulated and sound vision for Education in Jamaica. The truth, though, is we nuh ready! 

Challenges in realising Vision 2030

Madam Speaker, one of the major challenges facing the sector is the government’s failure to communicate, consult, engage meaningfully and take advice from stakeholders. The result is that many principals and teachers feel excluded and marginalised. They feel as if their efforts and sacrifices are not valued. 

Madame Speaker, any Government worth its salt must be far more empathetic and proactive in making important decisions affecting our children, such as:

• When to bring our children back face to face; whether or not to hinge the reopening of school on the vaccination of students with dismally low vaccination levels in the wider society;
• Engaging our teachers/student in the summer and then making sure they are paid on time;
• Making timely changes in PEP assessment or even in the timetable for CSEC exams. 

Key areas to be addressed

Madame Speaker, while there are many issues that need to be addressed, I will confine the rest of this presentation to three key areas that require urgent attention. 

1. Early childhood education – a solid foundation 
2. Closing the inequality and inequity gaps in education 
3. Making tertiary education truly accessible 

Early childhood education 

The World Bank report ‘Acting Now to Protect the Human Capital of Our Children’ (2018) pointed to a learning crisis in Jamaica with high enrollment but poor performance in relation to primary and preprimary education. 

We are acutely aware that the first 1000 days or three years of a child’s life may well determine the next 80 years, and access to quality early childhood stimulation programs, therefore, is critical. 

Madam Speaker, as we now know, despite boasting an impressive 93.4 per cent of three-to-five-year-olds attending early childhood institutions, the quality of care and training is unsatisfactory. 

The Patterson report indicated that early literacy and numeracy problems were identified in about 20 per cent, with “boys, children attending infant schools and departments and children on PATH of particular concern.” 

It is for this reason, Madam Speaker, that the Leader of Opposition has indicated that we are committed to making significant investments in early childhood education. Where you live and, therefore, where you go to school should not determine your success or failure. 

Nutrition

The UNICEF Report of 2020 indicated that families were eating fewer meals per day and less food at any meal; this suggests to us, on this side, that the visionary implementation of the nutrition products is still needed and should continue to be provided for the nutrition, especially in the early childhood sector. 

Recall that there were strident and effective efforts made by former Minister Ronald Thwaites to increase the funding and provision of food for our children, such that each early childhood student would have at least a breakfast each day. What a crisis now, because of the misuse and misappropriation of funds from this very important Agency! From our children’s mouths to the pockets of the rich and well connected! 

Madam Speaker, the Opposition will continue to press for answers until we see transparency and accountability in the operations of Nutrition Products Limited. 

Funding

Madam speaker, I am well aware that this year has been proclaimed the year of early childhood development, and I suspect that there may very well be funding being sourced by donors and other agencies. It will therefore be crucial to ensure that, again, there is transparency and equity in what is being done. 

I also note that although many schools have been closed because of failure to meet the early childhood standards or as a result of the proprietors’ inability to keep their institutions going under the challenges of COVID-19, there is no talk of going into a Grant-In-Aid relationship with these institutions, neither is there talk of building out infant schools or infant departments sufficient to cushion this particular crisis in the early childhood sector. 

Teacher development

Madam Speaker, there is understandable concern by many teachers and members of society regarding the definition of ‘teacher’ in the Jamaica Teaching Council Bill: a person who “has successfully completed a Bachelor’s degree in education or its equivalent or alternatively, a first degree with a post-graduate diploma in education”. 

Accepting that the intention of the bill is, inter alia, “to contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning in Jamaica” and not to exclude those who are currently practising who may not have these qualifications but have given invaluable service, then more would have to be done during the transition to support and facilitate the professional development of these teachers; and that expressly stated in the bill. 

Madame Speaker, the work of Dr Rose Davies, may her soul continue to rest in peace, who designed the NVQ-J levels one to three programme and the associate degree for early childhood practitioners cannot be ignored. The MOEY should build on the best of the past, not destroy it or remove it or ignore it. 

‘Powering the dream’ (Part 1)

Madame Speaker Jamaica can count on the next PNP government to ensure creative pathways which encourage, facilitate and support teachers’ professional development and credentialing. Because Madam Speaker, this is what is required. That’s how we power the dream. 

Madam Speaker, we commit to: 

• Addressing the adequacy of staffing in the sector that would allow for a better teacher to pupil ratio of (1:10); and 
• Provide sufficient guidance counsellors, social workers, and psychologists to provide psychosocial support for our children, their parents and teachers. 
• Facilitate pathways to the professional development of our teachers and caregivers. 
• Ending educational apartheid
• Closing the inequality and inequity gaps 
• Madame Speaker, we have seen over the last six years the undiluted display of a primary principle of this government, that of self-interest. Because you are in government, the championing of this particular principle has fostered stark and growing inequality and the survival of the fittest to the detriment and deprivation of the most vulnerable: the rural poor, the urban poor and their children. This also impacts the middle class – especially those just entering the professional class of teachers, accountants, doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. This has resulted in further worsening the inequalities and inequities in our education system and our society. 
• Equality means affording every student the same opportunities to do well. At the same time, equity means ensuring that our policies provide every student with the support they need to take full advantage of the opportunities provided. Just check our record! 
• Strengthening the school-home/community connection 
• Partnerships with parents and communities is essential in building a sense of mutual responsibility for children’s success in the educational system. 

Studies have re-affirmed that: 

1. Co-operation between schools, homes and communities can lead to academic achievement for students, as well as to reforms in education. 
2. Successful students’ have solid academic support from their involved parents. 
3. Schools where students are learning and achieving, even if located in low socio-economic neighbourhoods, have strong and positive school-home relationships. 

It is conceivable that strong relationships between schools, homes, and communities would have resulted in greater and earlier success in the MOE’s search for 120,000 missing students. Madam Speaker, I have seen schools with 90 per cent or more retention of students during the pandemic. How did they achieve it? Simple. 

They ignored the MOE’s advice to close schools and found ways of observing the protocols while engaging students. The lesson here is simple. A clear case for delegating some of these decisions to the principals with a better understanding of the circumstances in which they operate. 

The Opposition will therefore encourage efforts of parents and communities to support schools so they can make a direct impact on the achievement of a successful education system. 

Closing the digital divide 

As the distribution of tablets and devices continues, we trust that priority attention will be given to the most vulnerable students on PATH, the rural poor and our boys. We are concerned about the number of students who indicate that they got a tablet which is no longer working.

The reality is, minister, that teachers have had to find creative ways to give access to threw children on one device by installing Google Classroom for all three from different classes – even though the MOE forbids them from doing this – but they saw the need and thankfully they responded! That Madame Speaker is a local response to a local need. That Madame Speaker is about creatively cushioning the crisis at the individual teacher level. 

Universal literacy and numeracy

The Opposition is on record calling for a comprehensive literacy program that includes teaching children to read and operate effectively in all dimensions of language and literacy. In this regard. We fully support the official position of UNESCO, since 1953, that children should be educated in the language of the home, their native language. Hubert Devonish, of the Department of Languages, UWI, Mona has pointed to this having a “positive effect on children’s concept of self, their literacy and broader communication skills, critical thinking and creativity.”

Once these attributes are fully developed, children transfer easily to a foreign or non-native language. 

‘Powering the dream’ (Part 2)

To build back better and stronger, we would have expected to see additional allocation sufficient to: 

1. Re-establish and adequately fund all services targeting students on Path or those at risk, especially our boys.
2. Ensure specially targeted diagnostic assessment to guide an appropriately targeted individualised learning programme for ALL students.
3. Help students deal with/rise above their challenges, including deaths, neglect, domestic abuse, family conflict, job loss for parents or guardians, hunger or lack of nutrition, and gang violence in immediate surroundings.
4. Implement a comprehensive training and upskilling of teachers; and 
5. Create programmes involving parents and communities to improve parenting skills, engaging teachers and the school, conflict management and learning at home. 

Madam Speaker, we believe that these initiatives can be implemented if the Government of Jamaica joins up services across ministries, integrates stakeholders, and eliminates the waste and mismanagement we’ve seen over the past six years. 

Higher education: A pathway to the dream

Despite the merger into HEART of the Jamaica Foundation for Life Long Learning (JFLL), the National Youth Service and the Apprenticeship Programme, the numbers are still down. 

Many believe that the PM’s cavalier statement about importing workers should have referenced the failures of HEART under his watch. 

There seems to be a serious lack of attention to or understanding of the role these institutions can play in meeting the demand for skilled workers. 

For over a decade, HEART installed workshops and laboratories in secondary schools under the HEART/MOE “Rationalisation of TVET in Secondary Schools” programme. 

This prepared the infrastructure to support Education Minister Thwaites’s policy to enable all fifth-form school leavers to earn their required CSEC subjects and NVQ-J or CVQ occupational work certification, enabling our graduates’ school-to-work transition. 

We have seen some recent proposals about the direction of vocational training and certification. 

Let’s be clear, TVET operates using competency-based education and training (CBET) principles and methodology, the precise assessment of learning outcomes, and demonstrated competencies measured against standards set by industry. 

Neither the Overseas Examination Commission (OEC) nor the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) has the institutional ability or staff expertise in CBET to perform assessment and certification of persons and accreditation of programmes and institutions. In addition, we have not heard any details about addressing the ingrained bias against vocational studies and how this new oversight would work! 

Prior to and concurrently with the Patterson report, we saw the thievery of much-needed funds from the MOE (by way of the HEART-Trust Fund): Contributions from the employers of Jamaica to provide training and certification of workers… no wonder the figures for the certification of workers are so low.

Student performance: High schools

Madam Speaker, I think the point has been solidly made of the low performance of our high school graduates. As I speak today, I have in front of me those students who have graduated from high school without the requisite minimum of 5 CSEC subjects, including Mathematics and English. 

I want to speak on behalf of the majority: whose families have done the best they could under the circumstances, hoping that education would have been that weapon with which they could have defeated intergenerational poverty. 

Relationship between tertiary participation rates, ‘prosperity’ and innovation 

Madame Speaker, there is an interesting relationship between tertiary participation rates on the one hand and per capita income, murder rates, and innovation and the other.

In simple terms, the more people who are tertiary trained in a country, the more that country produces in terms of goods and services and the more each person earns.

Instructively and critically for us in Jamaica, Madame Speaker, it also means lower the levels of crime, especially murders, and higher the levels of problem-solving and improved quality of life through innovation and new technologies. 

‘Powering the dream’ (Part 3)

If we want to talk about prosperity for more than a few, then we have to ensure that tertiary education is a real option for the everyday high school graduate. 

If education is to indeed be that weapon with which we fight poverty, then tertiary education and training must be more accessible for our young people, low income and working parents, and this has to be done in a way that does not weigh them down with debts before they’ve even begun. 

We must broaden access to more Jamaicans, especially those in lower socioeconomic groups. 

1. The Leader of Opposition is on record proposing a “Fresh Start” programme, where the Student Loan Bureau (SLB) forgives a portion of, say, $7.5 billion in students’ accrued loan interest and penalties. In addition, the PNP will cap monthly payments at a reasonable percentage of the student’s actual income. This is what we mean when we talk of cushioning the crisis. 
2. For the medium term, we recommend that the newly established Education Taskforce considers how the relationship among community colleges, teachers’ colleges and universities may be recalibrated to ensure greater synergy and strategic cooperation to both reduce costs and improve revenues and innovative inputs. In fact, this could be an excellent bridge to ensuring an affordable pathway from high school to tertiary education.

For the long-term we propose the establishment of a Child Opportunity Trust Fund. An idea for which we give credit to Dr Canute Thompson. 

This initiative would require that the government opens an account in the name of each child one year after birth and seeds each account with the equivalent of USD $100.00. This account would then be financed by contributions from parents (and in the case of wards of the state, by the State) to the tune of J$100.00 per day or $3,000.00 per month for eighteen years. 

This initiative would be supported by the banking sector which would be expected not to charge a fee for operating these accounts and the governments would not charge taxes on the earnings. 

At maturity, eighteen years later, each child would have access to those funds to purchase their education locally or set up a business. 

We submit, Madame Speaker, that these measures would go a far way in helping to create a clean, peaceful, safe, innovative, productive, and prosperous Jamaica and would certainly power the dream for the many and not just the few. 

Conclusions and general recommendations

Yesterday’s educational failures are today’s social and economic problems and challenges. We need to commit to place education as our top priority, and keep it there until we can successfully meet the needs of our students at all levels.

If we want to create a Jamaica which is safe, one which is truly prosperous and where people want to live and do business, then our education system must produce “well rounded and qualified individuals who are able to function as creative and productive individuals in all spheres of our society and be competitive in a global context.” (Vision 2030) And this Madam Speaker must be more than rewords in our vision for 2030. 

Madam Speaker, we believe that the issues and priorities raised today can be addressed if the Government of Jamaica joins up services across ministries, eliminates the waste and mismanagement we’ve seen in the past and heeds the Opposition’s call to gently defer the pace of reduction of our debt this year by a mere two per cent of GDP ($40 billion). 

Opposition Leader Mark Golding, has made the suggestion and has been urging the Government to take the suggestion on board. This suggestion could provide the needed fiscal space for several programmes I’ve raised today, which would cushion the crisis in education. 

Madam Speaker, the Opposition is committed to ensuring that our promise to provide education at pre-primary and primary as articulated in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedom is guaranteed to all Jamaicans. But we must go even further and end this inequity and the great divide that perpetuates such vastly different results in our secondary schools. 

Tertiary education is not a luxury and can no longer remain the preserve of a mere privileged 27 per cent. Every family in Jamaica should count on at least one tertiary graduate. This is what we mean when we speak of education powering the dream. Prosperity, real prosperity then becomes possible not just for a few but for everyday Jamaicans willing and facilitated to be the best they can be, and education is the pathway that leads them there!