Hypocrisy in condemning the Ascot principal

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Don’t get me wrong. It was utterly shameful for the Ascot principal to brand some of his own students as failures, as lesser beings. He should be removed from office immediately given his complete lack of empathy and basic understanding of child development.

But much the same is happening in primary schools across Jamaica. At Leavers’ Day ceremonies, the more academically able collect prize after prize while others leave empty-handed. A few may receive awards for effort, behaviour, or helpfulness, but these are seen as less significant. Students are then sent off with hopes of gaining entry to a prestigious high school. The implication is that those who do not have somehow failed. The effects can be devastating.

The divisiveness of the Common Entrance era remains with us. Society still tends to regard a minority as winners and the majority as also-rans. Many parents lose faith in their children’s potential far too early. Examinations, beginning in the primary grades, reinforce these perceptions and encourage life-defining labels.

Even worse, the successors to Common Entrance, whether GSAT or PEP, often give children from better-resourced families an advantage because the assessments demand more than raw ability. This recalls what Bernard Coard wrote about in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when Caribbean children were wrongly classified as educationally subnormal because of culturally biased tests and low expectations.

So let us not make the Ascot principal the sole villain in a system that often mirrors the attitudes he expressed. He should still be removed from office just as the police officer who shot Latoya Bulgin should be dismissed regardless of the outcome of any criminal case. The greater challenge is to move away from a divisive education system and to rethink institutions and practices that continue to reinforce inequality.

PAUL WARD