Lawyer Jomo Thomas has shined a spotlight on the stark inequalities plaguing the national education system, arguing that current practices are setting up a large portion of the youth for failure.
Thomas expressed dismay that, 47 years after independence, society still organizes education by skimming the “best 100” performing boys and girls and sending them exclusively to elite schools like the Grammar School and High School.
This sorting mechanism, he argues, creates a two-tiered system. While elite schools boast high pass rates, other institutions are neglected, with some lacking basic facilities like science labs.
Thomas noted that he had previously been criticized for calling some schools “dumps,” but maintained that even teachers at these underfunded institutions agree with his assessment.
When students show signs of deviance, Thomas says they are transferred and “dumped” into these failing schools. “Young people ain’t stupid enough,” Thomas warned, explaining that when intelligent students realize they have been discarded by society and teachers, they act out.
Thomas also highlighted significant flaws in how educators are deployed and trained. He criticized the practice of taking individuals fresh out of their CXC exams and placing them in classrooms just to give them a job, leading to a workforce that is there merely to get paid rather than out of a passion to teach.
Furthermore, he pointed out a misallocation of educational resources, noting that while hundreds of teachers are trained in “education management,” there is a desperate need to incentivize training in specific subject areas.
According to Thomas, students need credentialed teachers standing in front of them who have deeply studied mathematics, biology, economics, or agronomy, rather than someone just reciting from a book.