Recently there has been a great amount of outcry from exporters about the losses they have incurred as a result of the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar. Interestingly no one heard anything from them when the dollar was devalued. They engaged in quiet enjoyment of the windfalls from massive devaluation over the last five years but have been boisterous in their public wailing over the shortfalls resulting from a modest revaluation of the dollar.
There are some economists who maintain that fast foods are quite good indicators of the major economic trends in many countries. They have coined the term “Bergonomics” to describe and define this emerging brand of economics. In thinking about this matter it came to me that “Pattynomics” would really be the Jamaican version since hamburgers cannot yet rival the patty as a fast food in Jamaica
Recently the Ministry of Education released the results of the Grade 4 Reading Test that was administered early this year. The results are no different from those of 1999. Approximately 47 percent of the students were reading at or above the Grade 4 level, another 31 percent were just below that level, while 32 percent were reading at levels that would not suggest that they have not mastered the basic skills needed in order to learn to read.
Last Saturday I had the good fortune to travel to New York in the splendid company of Mr Lloyd Bryan, Principal of Calabar. On Sunday we attended a Gala Banquet put on by the Calabar Old Boys Association, New York Chapter, at which the Prime Minister spoke on the subject of education and its critical importance to the future of Jamaica. The Banquet was well supported not only by Calabar Old Boys by quite a wide cross-section of the Jamaican community in the New York area. The primary focus of the event was raising funds to help the school.
The Grade Six Achievement Test, GSAT, results have come in for quite a bit of discussion in both the print and electronic media. While I have not heard all of the discussion it seems as if the GSAT is being blamed for several things for which it is definitely not responsible. Some have made the charge that the GSAT has not been fair to the Comprehensive High Schools or All Age Schools. For the sake of clarity let me set out what has changed with the GSAT and what has remained the same as the Common Entrance Examination that it replaced.
