St. Lucians are crying for an increase in the number of school places at all levels of our education system. They are also very concerned about the mental capability of students graduating from our secondary schools. Our government faces a growing challenge to facilitate these two needs. These problems are further exacerbated by a growing population, declining financial resources, the entrenchment of an elitist view of the role of education, and the apparent existence of a lack of educational leadership. When last has the government held a public comprehensive review of the education system? What should we do? you ask - put on our thinking caps, make a break with traditionalism, and search for creative and innovative solutions by bringing stakeholders together in public discussion and debate. In this article I will talk about physical capacity. In next week’s column, I will talk about increasing the mental capability of our students.It would appear that most of us believe that to increase the number of school places we must build more schools. While that is one possible solution, the capital expense may render such an option prohibitive. So the question becomes, can we increase the capacity of our schools without having to build new schools? In response, I ask, what happens to our schools after 3:30 PM? Surely we can double the capacity of our system if we really want to. If we believe that primary and secondary education should only take place between the hours of 8:30 AM to - 3:00 PM, then we have a problem.
I would like to digress a little and draw your attention to the manufacturing sector. Most factories commence operations with one shift. If the demand exceeds the current capacity of the one shift, a second shift is added. If the capacity of the two shifts become exceeded, then a third shift is added provided the labor force in the area can support three shifts. In other words, the factories use economies of scale to gain efficiency. Rather than undertaking a new capital project (building a new factory), the manufacturer would attempt to maximize the use of current capital assets. One other thing that some factories do when expanding the number of operating shifts, is that they reallocate production between the shifts. That is to say, rather than making all their products, say A, B, C, and D on all shifts, the first shift may make products A and D, the second shift may make product B, and the third shift product C. This is done in order to maximize the efficiency of production while maximizing the use of capacity in the system.
The use of the shift system in schools in St. Lucia is not a new idea. In 1978, I taught at the Entrepot Junior Secondary school which was on a shift system. What was interesting to note, was that the shift system was never introduced in the more elitist schools such as Saint Mary’s College or St. Joseph’s Convent. This begs the question, why? It is important that such a question be answered, because it will illuminate the attitude of the educational bureaucracy to multiple shifts in schools at that time. My suspicion is the shift system was introduced to simply address capacity constraints, not to provide additional capacity for quality education. I am of the belief that to this day, unfortunately, second shifts have a negative stigma attached to them.
Given my factory example, I would advocate using the shift system to maximize capacity utilization, but with two major modifications which would differ from the past applications. One modification requires that students in secondary schools (Forms 4 and higher) be limited to five academic subjects. The second requires that the morning shifts be reserved for the more junior classes, and the afternoon shifts for the more senior classes. I will rationalize these modifications shortly. In the past, the two shifts were mirror images of each other.
To increase capacity utilization, we must start by making every school (both primary and secondary) a candidate for adding a second shift. Depending on the demand for spaces, not all schools may need a second shift. Hence an appropriate scheme for selecting schools for double shifts would have to be designed. Teachers and parents should be consulted in developing selection criteria. The criteria may include: the quality of the resources at the school, the infrastructure, the location, the availability of teachers, and the operating efficiency of the school. Starting with the "best" schools (based on the criteria determined) we double up the shifts until the capacity level satisfies the demand.
Given a system of day and afternoon school, Stage 1 up to Standard 2 in primary education and the first two years of secondary education (Forms 1 & 2) should take place in the hours of 7:30 AM - 12:30 PM (day school). Classes for Standard 3 - 6 and Forms 3 - 6 should take place from 1:30 PM - 6:30 PM (afternoon school). From 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, the schools could be used for adult education classes. This recommendation will yield a significant increase in the current capacity of our schools. Note also, that we would be able to accommodate a lot more students at the Form 6 level than we do currently.
In our current system, we have students who are taking between 7 and 10 academic subjects. If each student demands 5 hours per week per course, then a student would demand 35-50 teacher-hours per week. If we multiply that figure by the number of students times the number of weeks per academic year, we see that these students consume a significant amount of teaching resources. If we keep in mind that students can gain entry into a university program with 5 CXCs (Math and English included), then what is the rationale for a student doing 10 CXCs when there is competition for scarce resources? The additional five courses (places) could be occupied by other students. Further, our students need to broaden their exposure to non-CXC areas such as music, drama, industrial arts, journalism, etc. and could use the time available to do so. A "bright" student wishing to challenge themselves in the CXC domain could do so by undertaking private study in the additional areas of interest.
Given our level of resources, compromise and sacrifice are necessary principles if the state is to conduct a balancing act in guaranteeing all citizens a minimal level of access to education. I propose, therefore, that secondary school students be given a full slate of courses up to the Form 3 level. The student will subsequently select 5 courses (including English and Math) for CXC preparations. Not only will this help to free up capacity in the system, student performance will also improve. It is easier to allocate time and perform well in five subjects than to perform well in 8 to 10 subjects. The reasons are obvious. Given the extent of the capacity increase that can be achieved using the above suggestions, we have a strong basis to advocate for the banning of the Common Entrance Exam.
What is the overall cost of these above suggestions? A lot cheaper than building new schools! Obviously, the operating cost for each school on a multiple shift will increase. However, due to the economies of scale, the cost per hour of operation will actually reduce as the number of hours of use increases. We should also remember that a new school will incur both capital and operating expenditures. Hence, it is cheaper to expand the use of existing schools.
Apart from some minor inconvenience in parental preparation of students for afternoon school, and the small sacrifice that a few CXC students would make in having to undertake self-study or correspondence study in courses over and above their 5 subjects, we will better be able to increase access to education for our students. I subscribe to the view that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few! As an important aside, however, we have to deal with the challenge of managing our population growth which is the genesis of the heavy demand on our education system.
I would hope that our educational technocrats could come up for some air and review this suggestion, and that the Minister of Education would have to courage to innovate our educational system so that it can truly serve the masses of our people.
