Don’t steamroll STEAM

GOOD SENSE has prevailed at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), which has reversed moves to cut a cluster of forward-thinking science and agriculture subjects from its syllabus. Regional educators should be cultivating more interest in these areas, not facilitating their demise.

After what CXC described as the “premature release” of correspondence last month suggesting the group of subjects known as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths), as well as education and climate-smart agriculture, were poised for the chop, the body convened a high-level meeting with ministers on June 4.

It reported it received support from the government officials gathered, who underlined such subjects are essential to development, even if there are challenges.

“Some are not yet in desired demand,” registrar Dr Wayne Wesley said at a media briefing. “Governments will work with CXC in building demand for these new programmes to enable their cost viability.”

And so they should.

At a time when the region is under intense pressure, whether due to the climate crisis or uncertainties wrought by the global political environment, these subject areas will be essential in building self-reliance, sustainability and economic diversity. It is an error to believe that true headway can be made without direct involvement from our youngsters.

From an early age, many are taught about the facts of the world around them, from how to germinate seeds to the nature of our societies and our post-colonial histories.

These sorts of lessons need to find further expression at the highest levels as all transition from primary and secondary school to university. The point of education is to prepare people to engage with the realities around them; as the world changes, education must.

It is distressing, therefore, to hear reports of low participation.

This begs the question of whether there is enough being provided to schools in terms of resources, as suggested by Dr Wesley’s allusion to the expenditure that might be involved.

Also relevant is the availability of physical infrastructure, as well as skilled human resources capable of administering specialist courses of study.

In this country, education gets the highest level of budget spending, with $8 billion, $7.5 billion, and $6.9 billion allocated in the last three years alone.

But much of this recurrent expenditure relates to salaries, and there may well be room for more focused measures, such as the new scheme which allows private-sector sponsors to “adopt” schools.

However, spending alone, while a key matter, will not address the need for social media-addled students – who are increasingly estranged from the real world around them – to be interested in these kinds of subjects, which are currently not mandatory.

That might have to change.