Fr Harris: Education system producing failures

Outgoing Archbishop of Port of Spain Fr Joseph Harris yesterday said TT’s education system was fundamentally flawed and was contributing to an uneducated society and delinquent social behaviour.

At the press conference at Archbishop’s House in Port of Spain, Harris said there were no proper facilities to provide children with an all-round and holistic education with those having learning difficulties being left on the side. Asked for his take on the crime problem, Harris said the education system had a role to play.

“The big problem we have with crime is the problem of education. We have an education system which produces failures very often. Until our education system starts taking into account learning styles and aptitudes, it (crime) will continue escalating,” he said. He added that the official policy of the Education Ministry that no child would be left behind, meaning that every child sitting the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam would be placed in secondary school, was fundamentally flawed.

To show how this policy was not working, Harris asked, if a child struggles with primary school work and makes a 30 per cent or lower grade, how can one expect that child – with no support mechanisms – to cope with and benefit from a secondary school education? What happened then was that children fell through the school system and could be brought full circle into a life of crime and lawlessness.

Harris said a recent upsurge in reports of school violence was also directly related to the failure of the system to cater properly for students who had difficulty in learning. He said violence in schools originated from students frustrated by their inability to perform well. Questioned about children taking responsibility for their delinquent and violent behaviour, Harris said adults ought to be held accountable for accepting a failed education system.

“We have been culpable as adults because we are accepting an education system which is not doing what is should be doing. Society has to be held accountable.”