The National Education Inspectorate (NEI) is advising stakeholders in the education system to pay keen attention to the agency’s next report on the performance of primary and secondary schools. 

The document which focuses on 103 schools will be published by the end of this month.

The NEI is encouraging school administrators, parents and other Jamaicans to use the reports to help in determining levels of improvement at schools across the country.

In the Chief Inspector’s Baseline Report published last year, 45 percent or 431 primary and secondary schools were found to be effective, and 55 per cent or 522 schools were rated as ineffective. The report also pointed to data which showed that 59 per cent of schools were rated satisfactory and above in leadership and management. In addition, 55 percent rated satisfactory and above in teaching and 22 per cent of the country’s primary and secondary schools were found to be at or above the Ministry of Education’s target for student outcomes in Mathematics and English.

In her presentation of the 2015 Baseline Report to representatives of the Union of Jamaican Alumni Association’s (UJAA) in New York, just over a week ago, Senior Staff Inspector at the NEI, Dr. Cheryl McLaughlin said the baseline report which was completed in the first half of 2015 represented an in-depth analysis of the state of education in Jamaica.

Senior Staff Inspector, Dr. Cheryl McLaughlin, addressing the gathering.

Dr. McLaughlin added that the document gave the national picture of performance, and educational outcomes as it relates to the eight indicators of assessment used by the NEI. These are leadership and management; teaching in support of learning; students’ performance in English and Mathematics; students’ progress in English and Mathematics; students’ personal and social development; the use of human and material resources; curriculum and enhancement programmes; as well as, students’ safety and security, health and well-being.

The Senior Staff Inspector emphasised that the NEI’s inspection is not punitive, but rather a developmental activity that is aimed at helping to improve the education system in Jamaica. “As the premier inspection agency in the region, we have a responsibility to our nation to ensure that our schools adequately prepare our students to compete in the global economy,” Dr. McLaughlin added.

Dr McLaughlin stated that there is an emerging trend suggesting that schools with strong alumni support tend to make more meaningful strides towards improvement. She urged alumni groups that were represented at the meeting to continue to provide support to their schools as their contributions are having an impact on students/school performance.

She also advised the UJAA representatives that the information they are receiving will empower them to provide more targeted support to their schools in Jamaica. She emphasized that the development of the education system in Jamaica depends heavily on partnerships and collaborations.

Similarly, Chief Inspector of the NEI, Mrs. Maureen Dwyer noted that the agency will continue to promote educational excellence and accountability, and that it has sought to bolster relations with key stakeholders in the Jamaican diaspora. She advised that one such strategic partner is UJAA, an umbrella group for past-student associations of some 41 Jamaican schools. She noted that the member organisations of UJAA have committed to working with the NEI to identify specific areas of focus for their contributions.

Since its inception in 2008, the NEI, an agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI); has developed and implemented its robust framework of school inspections, benchmarked against international standards, and contextualised to fit the educational environment in Jamaica. The Inspectorate has been working diligently to achieve its mandate of assessing, reporting and recommending continuous improvement initiatives for the development of education in Jamaica.