Government’s plan to add a year to the school curriculum is sound, but the initiative will need adequate planning, funding and support. To that end, it should be carried out as part of a comprehensive strategy designed to progressively improve the entire education system over the long term.
As government officials have argued at recent public meetings, it seems clear that too many students are coming out of high school unprepared for the next step.
An H. Lavity Stoutt Community College official said last week that about half of HLSCC’s students have to complete remedial classes before they are ready for college-level courses.
Moreover, most Virgin Islands graduates who attend college abroad do so in the United States, where students typically finish high school at age 18. With two fewer years of schooling under their belt, many VI graduates surely must struggle to catch up.
Education officials also asserted last week that VI students receive only 1,625 of the recommended 2,600 hours of preparation for Caribbean Examinations Council tests.
Meanwhile, the gap is widening between the education system and the workforce.
For such reasons, an additional school year is urgently needed.
The plan complements other ongoing reforms designed to bring VI schools in line with international standards: requiring CXC exams; establishing school boards; and continuing with efforts toward accreditation, among others.
These measures are all well conceived, but rushing them could easily backfire.
At last week’s meeting, some attendees argued that before adding a school year the territory should put a priority on improving the quality of the secondary education that is already offered.
Their concerns are understandable. Adding a school year doubtlessly will be an expensive undertaking. Currently, Elmore Stoutt High, the territory’s largest secondary school, is overcrowded and dilapidated, and the government has shelved plans to build a badly needed new facility. How can the school adequately accommodate another class in its current state?
The additional school year, then, would need to come hand in hand with sufficient resources to improve existing facilities and to ensure an adequate complement of teachers and other staff.
Officials did not disclose a date for implementation of the proposal. But given our concerns, we believe that 2014 may be too soon unless major improvements and accelerated reform are in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, government should work with stakeholders and the wider community to establish a long-term education strategy that includes a step-by-step approach to implementing such reforms. Then the strategy should be properly funded and rolled out over a designated timeframe, giving everyone time to properly prepare.
Enthusiasm is laudable, but, in the absence of sufficient resources, it is not enough to tackle the considerable challenges facing the territory’s education system.
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