Patterson Report implementation at 30 per cent
Published:Saturday | July 26, 2025 | 12:08 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
The Education Transformation Oversight Committee (ETOC) has indicated that the implementation of recommendations contained in the report of the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission, also known as the Patterson Report, are 30 per cent complete.
In January, the ETOC had indicated that implementation was at 23 per cent.
During a press conference earlier this week, ETOC Chairman Dr Adrian Stokes said work has started on all five pillars outlined in the report.
These are organisational coherence, systemic alignment, pedagogical transformation, curriculum revision, and equity, and cover the 365 recommendations contained in the report, published in 2021.
ETOC is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the recommendations.
Stokes said an additional two initiatives were finalised during this reporting period, bringing the number to 17.
He said work continues on the modernisation of the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information to enable it to lead a world-class education sector.
Accountability issues
Stokes said there are serious issues relating to accountability systems in the ministry.
“The transformation of education in Jamaica cannot truly happen until the ministry overseeing the sector is globally competitive in its administration and policy development,” the chairman pointed out.
The Mona School of Business (MSB), which is conducting a comprehensive review of the ministry, has already delivered one set of recommendations in this regard.
Stokes said the next step will involve consultation with critical stakeholders, then provide feedback to the MSB to enable them to finalise their recommendations.
“Our goal is to have a firm set of recommendations by the time of our next press briefing,” he said.
Reform school boards
Turning his attention to school boards, Stokes revealed that two major efforts are being made to reform school boards across the island.
These are to improve the cadre of individuals seeking to serve on school boards, and to seek legislative changes in terms of the composition of government-operated school boards which, he indicated, could produce perverse outcomes in its current state.
Stokes said improving the cadre of individuals was critical.
“To achieve this, we are making the application process for serving on a school board very transparent, similar to what obtains in the wider public sector. Soon, individuals who wish to serve on a school board will upload their CVs and other relevant information to a website managed by the ministry,” he stated.
From there, applicants will be vetted to ensure they are suitable for the post. He said the ultimate goal is to align individual competencies with the specific governance needs of the schools.
On another critical matter, Stokes revealed that the practice of moving students to grades to match their ages, irrespective of their academic development, is to end.
“Students who are not at the requisite level will be placed on a pathway that allows them to remediate the learning challenges they are experiencing,” the chairman pointed out.
He said individualised learning plans will be developed to assist the students with their learning challenges.