Ja: Sense comes to education

AFTER DELAYS, considerable agitation by experts in the field and some degree of opposition by the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA), the Minister of Education has announced the start of a pilot project to test the efficacy of performance pay for teachers.

The pilot will include areas 1 and 5 covering Kingston and St. Andrew, Manchester and St. Elizabeth. It will be based on an originating document which has been the subject of discussion by the stakeholders involved. The core concept of the plan is that those teachers who best achieve agreed criteria in various aspects of the education process will be rewarded with extra pay and, presumably, those who consistently fail will be removed from the system.

The usual suspects are in opposition, of course. However, if schools are to succeed, countries, states, and cities must start regarding education as a business with respect to staffing and remuneration. What schools need are people with knowledge, not with education degrees. What they also need is flexibility to hire and fire quick, fast, and in a hurry. Education is too important to a country's economy to inflict on children rotten teachers who cannot be dismissed and who earn the same pay as do excellent ones. Here's hoping and praying that Jamaica's pilot program spreads and improves the system.