Trevor Hamilton | Myths about the Jamaican education policy imperatives

The newly installed president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), in her annual address to educators, parents, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the sector, used Singapore as a benchmark and implied that the Government of Jamaica is under-financing education.

This is a myth. The Government of Jamaica has been extremely generous in financing education, especially compared with high-growth Asian countries such as China and Singapore.

Jamaica allocates 5.5 per cent of GDP or 12.9 per cent of general expenditure to education. This compares with 4.0 per cent and 11.9 per cent by China and 2.2 per cent and 12.0 per cent by Singapore.

The difference in the outcome is not the level of expenditure. One key difference is how the education system treats its teachers. In high-performing systems, educators earn middle-class pay to support a middle-class lifestyle. They work with facilities and in conditions that facilitate effective teaching and learning. The main challenge in the education sector is not financing. Rather, it revolves around sound policies and management systems that ensure teachers receive middle-class incomes and deliver results to accelerate the development and growth of the Jamaican economy.

The governments of Singapore and China provide approximately 50 per cent less financial support to education than prevails in Jamaica. However, they manage their education policy resources more purposefully and efficiently. The analysis focuses on middle-class teacher compensation, rationalising student subsidies, and optimising the utilisation of teachers and school plant to meet the demands of a science- and technology-oriented education.

The highlights from the attached table include:

The Jamaican government pays only 67 per cent of what corporate Jamaica pays for comparable occupations, such as high-school principals, who require a master’s degree, five years of experience, and specialised postgraduate training. Professional educators do not earn comparable incomes. They are therefore highly mobile within the country’s workforce and externally. In Singapore and China, educators are considered and rewarded as part of the middle class. Consequently, compensation in the education sector is broadly on par with that of middle managers in private corporations.

Higher-education students enrolled in technology programmes and institutions generally receive much higher per capita government subventions than those enrolled in humanities-dominated and traditional universities. However, the University of Technology (UTEech), which is technology-oriented and offers more strategically aligned programmes, receives approximately US$1,000 in government subvention per student per year, compared with approximately US$3,000 per student at the traditionally humanities-oriented University of the West Indies (UWI). While Jamaica imports nurses, a nursing student at UWI pays more than J$3.2 million for the BSN degree programme. At the same time, a student pursuing a BA degree in Literature pays approximately J$1.1 million and spends months searching for a job after graduation.

Science and technology-oriented education requires fewer conventional teaching inputs and a more fit-for-purpose school plant that supports student-centred, self-efficacy learning through observation, experimentation, investigation, problem-solving, peer-group engagement, and peer feedback. Singapore and China use teachers and school plants in a 30:70 ratio, creating opportunities to optimise available teaching resources, reduce teacher shortages, and produce more problem-solving-oriented graduates.

Jamaica’s educational outcomes are inferior compared with Singapore and China.

In Jamaica, 19 per cent of high-school graduates qualify for university matriculation, and 34 per cent are fit for the workforce. The comparable percentages for China and Singapore are 65 and 45, and 82 and 87, respectively. On the other hand, 33 per cent of Jamaican educators are likely to migrate, compared with 16 per cent in China and 8 per cent in Singapore.

The issue in the Jamaican education sector is not a lack of money. It is the allocation of the money, the treatment of the human factor, and a system that values the right output.

Jamaica’s challenge is destined to worsen. The global demand for technically skilled and certified professionals and paraprofessionals is increasing exponentially. The HEART/NSTA Trust is expending more resources in these areas but there are two challenges. First, many students do not complete the courses, as employers are prepared to employ them at the stage where they complete their practicum. The employer gets cheap, trainable labour, and the young trainee gets a salary he could only dream of. The guidance that would allow the trainee to appreciate that his or her value is much greater with a certificate is often lacking.

Second, the pull from the Caribbean and wider afield for certified professionals and paraprofessionals is often irresistible. This competitiveness is reflected not only in higher salaries paid in stable currencies but also in health and other benefits, including pensions and medical facilities, opportunities for family members, professional growth, and improved working conditions.

The fact that many migrants can, in a short time, acquire houses in Jamaica provides real incentives for others to follow. That stands in contrast to a situation where, after bruising negotiations, the unions in Jamaica are forced to agree “to a one-off payment of $80,000 for the period April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026” and “an increase of 10 per cent over three years” in an unstable currency.

In summary, the policy-management mechanisms governing Jamaica’s education sector do not deliver value for money. It should be restructured to: Double graduate readiness for higher education and employment.

Align the utilisation of the school plant and teachers with the demands of the learning environment required for science and technology-oriented education.

Support educators to earn middle-class incomes. This should be tied to performance, including student readiness, academic advancement, and the demands of the workforce. Policy should also recognise that professionals and paraprofessionals operate in a globally competitive environment. The hard reality will trump patriotism 80 per cent of the time.

Dr Trevor Hamilton is an international business strategist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com