Jamaica Education System Failed
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Seaga blames failed education system for
society's injustices
Edward Seaga |
FORMER prime minister and leader of the
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Edward Seaga, says Jamaica's failed education
system is to be blamed for the injustices that permeate society.
Seaga made the remark during his address to
guests at the JLP's inaugural Founders Day lecture held to commemorate the
party's 70th anniversary last week Monday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
According to Seaga, the number of 'uneducated'
students graduating from schools each year far outweighs those who leave
educated.
"Every year, schools graduate twice as
many students who are uneducated as those with an education. This is the
wellspring of poverty, the source from which all injustice is derived, the
splitting of the society into first and second-class citizens," he said.
He argued that the constitutional rights of
all citizens under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms were not
being observed, as the educated and rich minority is seen as first class while
the uneducated and poor majority is regarded as second-class.
"All men are equal under the law, says
the Constitution. But, in practice, we ignore this precept honouring some as
first-class citizens but ignoring the great majority as second-class," he
said.
"They lack education and the will to
work, condemning themselves to the 70 per cent of the population [who] are
dependent on others for help," he added.
He dismissed the notion that the uneducated
majority is ignored because of their inability to make an effective
contribution to nation building. "The building of the nation will rest on
the 30 per cent who are more privileged but they are insufficient to give the
nation growth," he stressed.
He explained that until all men have equal
respect and equal education, they cannot contribute equally because the
uneducated, who eventually ends up poor, would be unwilling and unable.
This unfortunate state of the Jamaican
society, Seaga implied, is fuelled by an ineffective and failing education
system, as the uneducated are left behind with crippled careers, while the
educated go forward, therefore, supporting a never-ending trend of poverty and
injustice for those uneducated.
The former prime minister urged the JLP
delegates to remedy this problem and give all Jamaicans justice, using the
fundamental Charter of Rights.
The lecture was one of the events held to
kick-start the JLP's 70th anniversary celebrations. Former prime minister and
JLP leader, Bruce Golding, is expected to speak at another lecture planned for
August 28.
(Jamaica Observer Tuesday , July 16th. 2013)
Mahogany Coconut Group Comment:
This is the third time in recent weeks that prominent Caribbean citizens have heavily criticised the education system in the Caribbean. The countries highlighted were : Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica.
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