Sat | Oct 25, 2025

Silvera: St James needs another boys’ school like Cornwall College

Published:Friday | August 13, 2021 | 12:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
From left: Dr Kasan Troupe, acting chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, presents Xavier McFarlane, a student at Cornwall College with financial aid, a school bag and a tablet while Janet Silvera, president of the Mon
Photo by Albert Ferguson
From left: Dr Kasan Troupe, acting chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, presents Xavier McFarlane, a student at Cornwall College with financial aid, a school bag and a tablet while Janet Silvera, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, looks on during a ceremony on Wednesday in which donations were made to more than 1,000 students in partnership with New Forest Energy.

WESTERN BUREAU:

As a result of the customary overwhelming demand for space at Cornwall College by students entering the secondary school each year, Janet Silvera, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), believes there is an urgent need to establish another boys’ school in St James.

The 125-year-old Montego Bay, St James-based Cornwall College is one of two boys’ secondary schools in the county of Cornwall, the other being Munro College in St Elizabeth.

Cornwall College has a rich history of churning out exceptional graduands, which has made it the school of choice for many students in the Ministry of Education’s Region Four, which covers St James, Trelawny, Hanover, and Westmoreland.

Speaking at an event where New Fortress Energy Solutions partnered with the MBCCI in providing financial aid to more than 1,000 students earlier this week, Silvera said that another boys’ school was needed to take some of the strain off that institution.

“As I thought about my greetings this year, I decided to make a desperate call for the construction of another all-boys’ school in St James,” said Silvera, adding that Cornwall College has been carrying a deficit for space for more than 10 years as many students placed at other schools generally find themselves there seeking a space.

“I know you will agree with me in calling for the construction of a boy school in St James. Cornwall College can only accommodate 250 [new students] each year after the PEP exam,” noted Silvera.

PEP is the Primary Exit Profile tests used to determine high-school placements by the Ministry of Education.

The chamber president noted that while Cornwall College usually gets its full quota of students through the Ministry of Education’s placement system, it is not unusual to see scores of parents showing up there seeking to get their children into the school via transfer.

She believes that many of the students seeking to get into Cornwall College would be a natural fit for another boys’ school with similar attributes.

“It is extremely critical for this other boys’ school to be constructed because of the overwhelming number of transfer requests and the fact that the principal is strapped for space,” said Silvera.

“Although more boys are going to schools like Herbert Morrison Technical High because of the technical and vocational offerings, it is just not enough,” said Silvera.

“There is also the brain drain that we have to worry about because when we don’t have the boy school here and those who can afford to send them to other boys school outside of the parish, they don’t come back to the parish,” she added.

editorial@gleanerjm.com