Jamaica Teachers’ Association president Mark Malabver is urging the Ministry of Education to reassess the heavy use of technology in classrooms, cautioning that emerging research suggests that it may be weakening students’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Speaking at the reopening of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association Western Regional Office in Montego Bay, Malabver said digital tools, once seen as a cure-all for learning challenges, are now proving distracting for many students. 

Malabver urges nation to rethink use of technology in classrooms

Jamaica Gleaner/3 Jan 2026/Albert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer

MARK MALABVER, president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), is urging the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information to pause and reassess the country’s heavy reliance on technology in classrooms, warning that emerging research suggests it may be eroding students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Malabver pointed to a growing debate in education circles internationally about whether schools should return to greater use of pen and paper, while speaking on Friday at the reopening of the JTA’S Western Regional Office in Montego Bay, St James.

“Interestingly, there is now a debate in education circles, particularly in Europe, and I even heard Mr [Linvern] Wright speaking about it, about the technology in the classroom and whether or not we should go back to pen and paper. And I support it,” Malabver said.

According to the JTA president, recent research is increasingly showing that students are becoming distracted by digital devices, with serious implications for learning and cognitive development.

“The research is saying that many students are too distracted by technology, and you know it robs them of critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” he stated.

Malabver said the education sector had once viewed technology as a cure-all for longstanding pedagogical challenges, but that assumption is now being challenged by evidence.

NOT THE ANSWER

“There was a point in time when we felt that the technology was the magic wand, the silver bullet to solving our pedagogical problems,” he said. “But the research is saying that is no longer so.”

His comments come as Jamaica continues to deepen the integration of tablets, smart boards, and digital learning platforms in schools – an approach accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and sustained in the years since.

While stopping short of calling for a complete rollback of technology in education, Malabver stressed that the time had come for a sober, evidence-based discussion about how far schools should go in embracing digital tools.

“I just want to encourage the ministry that we should have a dialogue on what direction we should go at this point in time, with respect to how far we go in terms of infusing the technology within our schools,” he said.

Malabver said such a conversation must balance the benefits of modern technology with the need to preserve foundational learning skills, including sustained concentration, independent reasoning, and problem-solving, skills he said remain critical to student success.

For feedback: contact the Editorial Department at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.