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MipiSTRY PAPER NO . .
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7
f>_ ..
JAMAICA LOCAL EXAMINATIONS - PROPOSED CHANGES
-: It has been conceded for a long time that the entire structure of the local examinations was in need of revision in the li ght of the social, economic, and educational developments of recent years. Accordingly, the Minister of Education appointed a
2.
Represent a tive
Committee with the following terms of reference :;
To examine and review the structure of the examinations
1
(with the exception of the Common Entrance Examinations for entering t h e high schools and technical high schools, and the Training Colleges' examinations), and to make recommendations for a revised programme which would be compatible with the demands of the contemporary scene 1' . Its personnel
The Committee's Report is attached as an Appendix. was a s follows
:-
Mr. R.E. Mais, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education 1 Chairman Mr. P.C.C. Evans, Education Adviser, Vice-Chairman Mr . J.E. Brown, Adviser on Technical Education Hr . R. H. Bent, Chief Education Officer Mr. G.H. Owen, Principal, Hico Training College.
Mr. U. C.
~ Jolf e ,
President, Jamaica Union of Te achers
Hiss Shirley Gordon 1 Lecturer, U.C , W.I.
Mr. Hugh Falkner, Principal, College of Arts, Science & Technology. Mr. R,C. Tavares, Principal, Vauxhall Senior School Hon. E. Dalton James, H.B.E., M.L.C.
Mr. E.H. Cousins, Principal Education Officer Miss E. M. Rhodd, H.B.E. Hr. J.J. Mills, O.B.E. Mr. P.A. Broderick. ~~sting
Local Examinations.
3.
The following are the official examinations whic h are set and marked
locally:(i)
(ii) (iii)
The First, Second and Third Jamaica Local, The First and Second Jamaica Certificate of Education The Common Entrance Examinations for entry to High Schools and Technical High Schools.
(iv)
The Training College Examinations.
There is no intention of making any changes in the Common Ehtrance and Training College :Zxaminations' schemes at present and the proposals in this Paper cover the First, Second and Third Jamaica Local, and the Fir s t a nd Second Jamaica Certificate of Education only. /Brief Historv
5 -
possession of the ,f irst Jama_ica Certificate of Education, or . a pass certi0
. ficate for the Second or Thitd Yea:i:- Ja~a ica :L ocal Examina tion, or a recommenrlfrom the Principal of a recogni s ed socond9:ry school tha t the candidat e
ation
has done good middle school work.
Condition~ fo~ a Pa ss:
-II.
Candida tes must sit and p ass a t one exami-
nation the one .compulsory subJect - English l a ngu age - to- g e ther with a ny · four of the op.tioria1 subjects but may t ake as many as six optional s .cmd ar i thme tic. The standard was to · be about the lev.e l of the Grade II School Ce rti-ficate.
I f a candidate did not get the whole certificate, viz., English
language and four optional s,
he vmuld receive a statement as to the subj e ct s
p asse d. It is said that when
syll a buses and regul a tion s v.;ere drafted the
public was made to underst and tha t teachers
and pupils would receive assist-
ance :f rom · Government in the following r espects:-
(a)
Coaching would take place during school time for under 15 pupils doing the fir s t examination, and . ~n additional t e ach. · er or two, according to the size of the . classes, would be provided.
(b)
Each school attempting botb examinations would be given a -snallgr·a nt- t·ovrards acquiring some of 'the . ~'ba-~ic books for the examin a tion so that at least the teachers would hav e relevant ·ma terial to pass on to tho children even if they could not purchas e their ovm cop;ies.
(c)
The Second Jamaica Certific a te of Educa,tion would bo r e cognized by Government for entry to the Civil Service.
(d)
A number of cetitr al classes would be set up at justifiable points over the island to teach successful Fir,.st JCB candidates for tho' seoond examination on a system -somevvha t similar to that now qper a ted in tho evening i.nsti tut el3•
Apart from allowing the first p a rt of (a),viz., whole~time t ea ching
15
a t school of uncter
pupils, none of . th e other conditions named wa s e· 'r
fulfilled. Whatever may have been the reasons why wh~t ;wai" contemplated r ema ined
( iv)
the fact is th.nt the Jamaica Certific a t e of Education
unfulfill e d ,•
examinations a re becoming less p.opul a r with the pass age of time. than
35
25•
Not more
persons each y ea r t ake the first Certificate examination, a nd . about
take the second.
popularity.
There are many
facto~s
which contribute to their wa ning
Those include-
(a)
the introduction of the overage scholarship examip~t~on for entry tO high schools V:rhich r e sults in fewer chil dren /remninin r;
- 6 rema ining fro m the primary s chool s y s t em Yvho woul d Yiish t o pur sue the second JCE, which does not enjoy the r e co gnition of the Cambridge School Ce rtific nt e or tho G. G. E. Ordin ary' (b)
a gr ave s hort age of t ea cher s qualified to 'coa ch for th e Second JCE;
(c)
the pro spect of cr eating a T;le st Indi es Examina tion Council, the examina tion s of \7hich body may r eplac e the Cambriclge Oversea Examinations and th e London G.C.E.; the 路int ention being that the examina tions of a Vife s t Indies Counc il will be more r elevant to our We s t Indi an soci e ty and environment than any over~ sea examina tion can be. Thu s it is not pru dent to continue the Second Jamaica Certificate of Educ a tion pitched as it is now at a level approxima tely equ al t o the CambriQgo Over se a School Certifica te and Londnn G.C.E.(Ordinnry).
It seems clear therefore that the Jamaica Certificate of Education
.路 ;,
examination 6.
in its present form h a s
outliv~d
its usefulness.
In considering the question of loc al examina tions it has emerged
quite clearly tha t there is ne ed for at least two levels of examina tion, the first to be taken at tho a go of 15 years when tho child l eaves the all-ago or senior school, and the second an oxamin,::: tion t o ropl a co 1io:th the Jamaica Local Examination s and J amaica Certifica te of Education
~t
a
later stage after two or possibly three ye ars study beyqnd the age of 15 years. School Leaving Certificate following senior school age (15 : years)
1.
It is clear th at an important factor in considering the development
of senior schools and senior department:s
of all-age schools is the n ee es si t;y
to have a target at which children who a ttended those schools mu s t aim. Your committee is of the opinion that there should be designed arohool leaving certificate for these pupils. haV!i)"_th~ 路v alue of
Such a c ertificat e , it is felt, would
encouraging pupils to stay on in school until the end of
the courses; would :Provide an incentive for tion
regul~r
attend<:mce md
a pplic ~-:. -
to studies; 路and would give employers some indication of the qualify
of the pupils who had had a full course of study . a t these schools. (i)
Your committee therefo~e strongly recommends tha t a school leaving
certificate should be established for which all pupils who have done a full course of study a t a senior school or senior department of an all-age school would be (ii)
eligible. The basis of the award of this sohool leaving certificate should
be the same throughout the island, on the results of an examina tion which would be set by the
~llinistry.
In working out th e cont ent of this examinntion
the following factors should be borne in mind
g-
/(a) the exnminatioh
0
- 7(a)
the examination should be of a satisfactory standard;
(b)
it should be a group examina tion; that is to say, the award should be mc:. de on tho basis of a ttainment in a group of subject s. accompanying th e ce rtificate should be a s t atement by the Head Te a cher of the char a cter and overall ability of the pupil;
(c)
(d)
failure to obt a in the tchool l eaving certific ate should not pre clude the pupil from sitting a subsequent loc al examina tion at a hi gher l ev el. Pape rs for the examin2tion
(iii) Subjects for th e examinationa should be se t in th e following subjects
g-
English Mathema tics ll General Pape·r. It is usually accepted tha t whil e an examina tion t ests the s t andard of . attainment of a
candida te, it £lso helps to s hape th e type of instruction
giv en for pr eparation. Bearing this principle in mind, it i s r e commended th a t . the examination should not be bookish but should be based on a syll a bus for t he top forms of the senior school.
pa ss in the examination should
ll
requir e
a fairly good standard of English with emphasis on expressional and interpretative exe rcises.
The pass mark should hot be les s than
40% in
the group
of :Subj eats taken together ,__ provided tha t . the mark in the English paper should not be les s than
50%.
Mathematics should include a rithmetic and el e-
ments of geometry and algebra. The general paper should be set on the multiple pattern a nd should deal vfi th questions arising out of environment al knowledge and an awareness of the country in which we live.It is
recommended
tha t no fndic a tion of tho subjects taken should be
shown on the certifica t e , but rother nified.
that over all att a inment should be sig-
On the other h nnd, the oortificnte -should indicate the na ture of
such practical
subj eats in which the pupil showed petrticul ar ap titude, v1i th
specinl reference to craft, woodwork, domestic science, etc •• (iv)
Standard of the Examina tion:
Care must be taken that the certifi-
ca te will be of a st andard th a t will eqrn public respect. On the other hand, it should be within the achi'·:v:ement of the ma jority of the pupils who attend school regul arly and complete the course. (v)
Practical
Subjectsg
Pupils should also hnve the option of to.king
a certa in number of practical subjects.
These subjects should be assess ed
by the school in coll a boration v-ri th Education Officers, and the school l ec:ving / c ertific nto
-
- 8 certificate
should atte s t to the pupil's prqficiency in these subj e ct s. 0
In dealing with the question of pr nctical subjects thq follo wing f a ctors should be observed g(a) practical subjects should be assesse d and not examine d, and this should be tho ~esponsibility of th e Rend Tea che r ; (b)
a r e cord of the performance in these subjects should be kepi in the schooi and be ma de avail abl e for examination by those concerned with the examina tion. '
(vi)
·. :/· ..,· .... . ·.· ···-- · ._.. .... ·:.~
,.
As sta ted befo:):'e, the certifica te should be nc com-
Testimonialg
panied by a stat ement by tho He a d Tea cher of the cha r a ct er and overall ability of the pupil.
It is recommended tha t this testimonial should be
prep a red under the guidanc e of a formul a prepar ed by the Ministry. int ention of this statement is twofold.
Th e
On the one hnnd, it will provi de
for those who pa ss the examination an evalu a tion of qualities outside of a c a demic attainment 1 and on the other hand, it will give some . opportunity of recognition to those pupils who f a il t o pa s s th e examina tion but who, in tho
opinion of the Head Teacher, a re considered
worthy in other r e spect s ,
such a s char a ct e r and deportment.
r vii)
Qualifica tions for sitting th e examinntiom
thnt any pupil who hns
It is recomr:10nde d
completed the senior school cours e \7ho is
: .~
70%
final ye ar of school and who has attended for month periods immediately
~n
th o
of e a ch of the t wo 12-
before July _of each ye ar, ahd who expresses . th e
desire, should be eligibl e to sit the examina tion.
No pupil should be
compelled to sit the examina tion, but it is expected that all VJho a r e eli gibl e will do so. Requirements for
8.
Appreticeship
Orders
The Apprenticeship (Motor Mechanic Trade) Order, 1959~ . provide s
tha t for entry to apprenticeship the applicant should be
"in possession
of a School Le aving Certificate of a Senior or All-Age School or ha s r cn ched an equival ent st andard of educ a tio n as certified in e a ch _c a se by tho Hea d Te a cher and an Education Officer of· the area" • .. Your committee is of opinion that the examina tion propos e d
fer pupils a t
~he
end of their senior school
course described above, would bo a satisfactory q_ualifica tion for :persons ·, _ ...
ent ering apprenticeship.
..
It is r e commended also t k .t those p_upil s ·who
fail t o qualify in this examina tion should be allowed by moe.ns
of any form
of further educ a tion avail abl e to them, to ent er appr enticeship if t ho y are able to prove to the sa ti sfacti on of tho Hini s try of Educ a tion th a t they /have sinc e
(.
~
9-
have since le i:r~ing school improved th eir educntion . to a clegree th nt vvould · 6nabl e • th em t o · profit -by a porioci of appr entic oBhip in any perticul :.r t r ndG. Examina tion to r~eplace the J ama ic a Local Examina tion and tho Jamnicn Certificnte of Educntiong The committee is of tho opinion that the n ame of the new exnmination should be "Jnmaicn Intermedi a te Certificat e "
conduct ed on the b::ts is of
a new syllabus, and the r e should be one ex aminntion in s t e ad of two.
In
considering tho question of the new J amaica Intermediate Certific a te the following factors form the basis of tho findin g s of the committee:(a)
the choice of subject should be very wide and should cover all the needs of students in Jamaica, and these would be used in determining what courses should be taken in · evening inititut e s;
(b) the st andard of the examinntion should be somewhat lowe r than that of the G.C.E.Ordinnry Level, and should prQvide a general educ a tion satisfactory for the requirements of the lower rungs of commerce, industry, tradES and other servic es (e.g. postmen, police ranks, etc.); (c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
students would prepa re for this examination through pa rttime study aft er . the nge of 15 ye ars and not during any period of their attendance at a senior school or a s enior department of nn all-a ge school; since ther e may be eventu ally a s many as 17,000 odd pupils per year in a~prenticeship, industry, commerc e , _a gricultur e , etc. s oaking further educ a tion for bett er equipping themselve s to play their part in the new indu strial activiti e s of tho island, it is desir nble tha t they should do pr a ctical as well a s a cademic· studio s; it is comtempl nt ed tha t much of the work will hav e t o be done on a part-time ba si s by meo~s of day rel e ase or ev en ing clas ses, or in short holiday courses and pr e- empl oyment courses in t e chnic al institutions, opportuniti es f or which vvill incre as e as tho development ofev oning institutes, etc. become s mor e Ylidespre ad; while it will be ne cessary, pa rticularly in the e nrly yenrs, to continuo t~:: uresent system of co a ching by te a chers outside the s,qhool 1 hours, it is de sir abl e th nt students should be a ssisted in the future by moans of the development of correspondence courses on a wide s c al e.
(i) Standard of tho now J amaic a Interme di a te Certificate:
It i s
recommended that there. shoul d be .£.:2£ examinc. tion at a level somewhere between tho Third Jamaica Local Examina tion and the Cambridge School Cortificat 0 •.
It. is proposed tha t _ it .s houHl be in sp e cific groups a s follows ga b c d e
Te chnic al Group Commercial Group llgricul·t ure Pre-nurs-ing General (of wide scope and many option s )
1
(ii)
... 10
( ii)
Tho fir s t f our groups
in s titut es.
ma y b e t au ght l a r gely in everjng
The ge n eral gr oup shoul d all ow wide option s so th a t pupils
could op t fo r the subj e ct s and a ctiv iti es which v-mul d se rv e them f or
Qu a lifi c ation s f o r e ntr y t o . Tr a ining 10.
Coll eges ,
The qu es ti on h as been r a i se d as t o v-rh a t s tand a rd s h oul d be se t f ol'
p~ r so n s
t o b e co.me eli gibl e fo r entry t o tr a inin g coll eges, . Up t o t he pr e-
se nt time c andida t es who p ass th e Th ird J ama ic a Lo c al Exa mina tion a r e being a ccept e d f or three-year c our se s, and ef f ort s a r e being ma de to entic e p e r so n s with the Cambridge School Ce rtifi cat e (or equival e nt) to ent e r t r a ining coll ege s an d t o t ake a two-year cour sE3 •
It mu s t hot be overlo ok e d
a l s o t h n t the Third J a ma ica Loc al Examination i s th o minimum qu alifi c a ti on ~ h q:J
: . r equir e d f o r p ro ba ti on e r s i:rt
prim nr y s cho ol
s ys t em.
With the intro ducti on of t h o n ew J ama ic a Int e r me di a t e Ce rtific a t e e x amina ti on
it is
r e comme nded th a t
s ucces sful c andida t e s
should b e
eli gible fo r a p pointment ns prob a tioner s ~ a nd they should nl so be all owe d t o e nte r tr a ining
coll eges for t h e thr ee-year cour se , but such entry s houl d
l a r gely b e sel e ct e d from - tho se who pa s s th o gene:I;' nl pa per ( group ( e ) a bove) , a nd t h ese shou.ld be e nc our age d to , s tudy f o r say feu~ c:r more subj e ct s a t the G. C. E. ( Ordina ry)level, e nd thus qu alify f o r the ~-year tr a ining coll ege .
course a t a
It ma y be tha t h elp in thi s direction s hould
be a
f ea ture of e vening. in s titut e work, an d l <: t e r it . is hop e d t ha t corre"Spondenc e courses will b e dev eloped for thi s purpo se also. Exa mina ti on s f or Craft smen. 11.
With t he exten. s ion of tho f a cilitie s f o r t e chnical e duc a ti on
a nd the e stablm.shment of' a pprentic e ship s chemes ther e a ri se s th e qu esti on '
''
'
of p rovi d ing ex a mina ti on s in cr aft · su bj e ct s , .e . g. fi tt ing and ma chineshop
work:~ . elec,~E.ic al
in st ~~l a ti o:n, .
auto-mecha nics, conq-reto work a nd
ma sonry .c a rp entry a nd j o ine ry, plumbing a nd· pipe fitting.
the good craftsmen
In each c a s e
should h av e a r easonable knowledge of a rithmetic and
men suration and s hould have a
r .e asona bl e kno wledge of the sippler
principl e s of s ci e nc e a nd t e chnolo gy a s In the pa s t a
f ~vf..
a pplie d to hi s cr aft.
s tucl e nt s h ave a tt e nded p a rt-time cl asses and
h av e taken the ex a mirta ti on, s ·of the City and Guilds of London Institut e . / The se
--11 '""
These exaoina tions are of good s t andard and have a wide recognition in the United Kingdom.
They are los s knovm in Jamaica a nd probably still les s so
in the Unit e d States of America and in Canada.
In certain tr a des the sub-
j e ct material of the examina tions is not suit a ble to J amaic an condition s ; for example, the examina tions in plumbing a re l a rgely concerned
with l ead
pipe vvork (not used in Jamaica); those in electrical inst all a tion fit trades practices Tvro
do not
and conditions in the island.
plans to meot J amaican needs are pos sible:(a)
The City and Guilds could be a sked to a ccept syllabuses prepared specially to meet loc nl conditions,
(b)
A series of cr aft examina tions could be set up in Jamaica after consult a tion with employers and any as sociation of skilled workers. It would be for consider a tion whether these examinations should include both a vrritt en paper and pr a ctical test.
Whilst the local craft ex amina tions Vlould be valuable, it is doubtful if there a r e sufficient tr a ined te a chers in cr aft subjects to implement a
loc al scheme.
It is suggested therefore that for tho next
five years the examinations of tho City and Guilds of London Institute be UMd and th a t, wher e necessary, th o Institute be a sked t o consider a cc ept ance of syllabuses appropriate to Jamaican conditions. Date
on which the new arrangeme nt should become eff<
';:..ve
Your committ ee recommends that in order to allow a period of
12.
time for making th e necessary a rr an geMents for the proposed School Leaving Certificate and J amaica Intermedi a te q.ertificate, the present a rrangement should continue for 1960 and 1961, and that these two hew examina tion s be introduced with effect from June or July, 1962,
During the cour s e of
the waiting pe riod steps shoul d be taken to introduce new syll abuse s. In this connection, it is to be not e d that with respect to the school le aving certifice. t .; , new
syllabuses for senior schools cmd s enior departments
of all-age schools a re being revised by a sp e cial a d hoc committee appoint e d by you for the purpo s e, and it is anticipa t ed tha t the report of this committ e e, together with the revi s ed syll abuses recommended by will be re a dy a t an
13.
e arly da t e.
SUW IW.J\RY
1)
th n t '~ o d y,
OF
RECO:MMENDliTI ONS
The Jamaica Loc al Examina tions should be abolished (Paras.3 and 4)
I 2/ .
12 · · · - 2) ··The J amaic a Certif ic a t e of Edu c a tion examina tion 's' shoul d b e · ,_; ~po lisl:;le d, (P a ra.5} -· ... ·:
. J) · A S9l:;looL -Le avtng ex-amiru1tion
to be t ak e n a t the age of 15 years pupils who a tt e nd se nior schools and senior dep a rtments of all~ age s chool s shoul d b e introduced, (P a r a s. 6 a nd 7),
by
4)
The .School Leaving Certificate -should be rega rded as sa tisfyin g the r equ irement s of the Apprentice ship Orde rs, (Para , 8)
5)
A n ew ·e xamination t o be taken by pupils after the age of i5 year s should be est ablishe d, This should b e a .single examination n t a level' somewhere between the ex:i.~ting Third Jama ica Loc al and the.. G. C. E. (Ordina ry), The new examination shoul cl b e known a s the Jamaic a In te rmedi a te Certifica te, (Para.9)
6)
The Jamaica Int erme di a t e Ce rtific a te shoul d be r egarde d as the minimum qualification for "Proba tioner" t eache r s and for .,. entry to tr aining coll eges. " (P a r a,lO)
7)
The City and Guilds of London In s titut e should b e asked to prepare revised syll abu s es for craf t examino. tion t o suit J ama ican condition s . Thasa should be us ed f or five y ec:rs or so, but Jam&ica s houid aim a t con ducting loc al examinQti on s for craft sme n. (Para ,ll), ·
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7th July, 1960, .; .- -'·
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Ch2irmnn)
路' "
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..~ . . ..
The Jamai c a Local Examinations h a d th e ir ge nesis in the last qu arter of the Nin etee nt h Century, when t he y were known as Pup il Teachers' From th e ir inc ept ion, they were i dentif i ed with the fi eld of teacher recruit men t , and in the first ins t a nce confined to pupil te achers . ;Vo lunt ee r
1
cand idates were later a llo wed to sit t he examin at ions.
t he nin e tee n-thir ties , the n ame was c ha n ged to t he Jama ica Local
Durin g
Examination:':
and since then from 11,000 t o 1 4 , 000 candidate s have sat each year .
5.
Be t ween 1 95 2 a nd 1954 th e th e n Education Departme nt , r ealisin g
t he need for change , appo inted a r epresentati v e co mmitt ee whi c h , after d e lib e ra ting , r ecommended the introduct io n of th e First and Se cond Jamaica Certificate of Edu c atio n Examinations.
When t hc.:>o examinations we r e intro-
duced in 1955 and 1 956 t he int e ntion was that th ey should eventua lly re p l ace th e Fir s t ,
Second and Third J ama ica Local.
It is interesting to note that
p roposals we re made a t t he time for correc tin g two of th e mos t serious d e f i ciencies in the Local exam inati ons arrangements .
Special clas ses sho u l d
be encourag ed so t ha t students who had already l e ft th e primary s chool woul d b e aff o r d ed bett er faci l iti e s for obtainin g in s truction, and the scheme and syl l abus were desi gn e d to conform with mod ern edu c a tion a l cont empl a ted was no t f u lf i ll ed .
thinking .
What was
Not mor e t h a n 250 persons s it th e first
c e rtificate ea c h year and only a bout 35 take the second .
Teaching faciliti e s
r emain i nad equate and , besides, ther e is littl e doubt that wid e ned grammar sc h ool opportunities s in ce 195 7 have d iver t e d many prosp e ct iv e p upils. Th e Hew Scheme.
6.
What eve r the deficiencies of th e past , it is es se ntial for the
vast majo rity of pri mary, al l-ag e and s e nior school pupils to be pr ovided wit h a sys t em of testing which is compatible with t he r e -or gani sed educ ation a p ro gramme and the country's e conomic a n d soc i a l development .
Whe n this i s
c onsidere d alongside the justifiable criticisms of the Jama i ca Local Examin a tions as s e t out in par agraph or fundamenta l
4
of the C01mnitt ee 's Repor t , th e basic
ch an g es whi c h arc now proposed can be seen in tru e perspective
De cisions hav e been t al;: e n which will e ns ure th e following (a)
The abo lit ion of th e e xisting local exam in a tions , name ly, t he First, Secon d and Third J ama ic a Loc a l; and th e First and Se cond Jamaica Certific a t e of Education.
(b)
The subs titution o f (i) a Schoo l Leaving Exam ina tion for p u pils of 1 5 years who at t end Senior Schoo l s and the Senior Departme nts of a ll-ago schools; (ii) The Jamaica Ge n e r al Cer t if ic ate , wh ic h wou ld be at a l evel somewhe r e be t wee n th e exis ting Third Jamai c a Local and the General Certificate of Edu cat io n (Ordina ry)i
(I t will b e observed
that the Commit t e e's nomenclature of /TYl
r.
" '1';
,, /! -i
!:':
+ r:.
11
The J amaica
- 3 Int e rme di a t e Ce rtific a te 11 has bee n discard e d in f a vour of the ;'Jamaica Ge ne ra l Ce rt i fi ca t e" ) . (c)
a nd pr ovi s ion for cr a ft e x am ina ti on s a nd f a ci l iti es f or s ch ool l e av e rs to und e rt a k e par t - t ime s tudi es to war ds t he J ama ic a Ge n e r a l Certifi c a t e Ex am ina tion .
J_h_:;_.:_S~ hoo l
Leavin g Ce rt i fic a t e .
!_c_g_l: l ~!l:Y.. .?-.r:tj__c.:_?_t~lJl l E;~-~:.._S._~ hoo l in g
?.c_l;~_o_;L___9_?_l!l.~Y-~ n
at th e age of 15 a t
.§'1-_ _ s e l:!:_~_<;n-
or___c:-]:__l_-:-_a_g~-
t he o pp_c:.F_t~E_i ty o f acq u iri~ g ~.E__tifj-~-~~-"-~- · - ··-~-hi_~_w_9_u_l_~__}_l.9l.:.Y.c
a_ :ty_'?_-:-_f old p ur po s e o.f._).?_ro_yidin g
in c~ ntiv e
f or re gu lar
a t ~ej1 d a n c e
an d E?n - _
_c_o :t;~r-~_g_e_!~_e.p_t to s t a y on in sc h ool , a nd a fford emplo ye r s __;:.__::> t a nda rdiz ed _I_<? c or _9.._ .of. .!J:::..c
8. j _,s
p~p i l s '
ac h i e -:_emei:_! s.
Th e d e t a il ed s c heme of th e sc hool l ea vin g c e rt if ic a t e ex am in a tion se t out in paragr aphs 7 a nd 8 of th e Co mmi tt ee 1 s Rep ort .
Of
para 1~10unt
por t nn c e a r e t he p r ov isio ns f or t h e Ge ne r a l Pape r , p r a c tica l subj e ct s
i m-
cx ~m i n a
tions , the pro posal fo r e va lua tion of pup ils ' qua l iti es outs i de of acade wi c a c h i e v eme nt, a nd th o c erti f ic a t e 1 s re l e vanc e to the r e quireme nts of the Al)~'ront ic e s h i p
Or de r s .
Th e Jamaic a Ge n e r a l Ce rt ifi c a t e.
9.
The Jamaica Ge n e r a l Ce rt i f ica t e wi l l sup e r sed e t he £iv e existiLg
l oc a l e xami n a tions .
Tho fundame nt a ls of t his ex am ina tion a r e el a bor at e d upon
in paragr aphs 9 - ll of th e Commi t t ee ' s Re port . (a )
The s e arc br i e fly
Th o s tandar d wo ul d be s omewhe r e between t h e exi s tin g Thi r d Ja;.w ic a Lo cal a nd the Gone r a l Ce rt i fic a t e of Educa t io n ( Or dina r y Le v e l);
(b)
Students wou l d pr epar e for the e x ami nat ion a f t er t ho age o f 15 a n d not during a ny p erio d of th e ir a t ten Canc o a t sch o ol .
(This wi l l no t p r e clude
h owe v er a ny par tic ul a rly brigh t chil d f rom t a k i ng t he exami nat i on be for e t he age o f 15 ) . (c )
The ex amina tion will cov e r th e follo win g .(i ) Te chnic a l group ; (ii) Comme rci a l group ; ( iii ) Agric u l t u re (iv) Pr e -nur s in g (v) Ge ne ra l
(o f wi de s cope and many op tions;
prov idin g entry to t he t ea c h ing pr of ession e t c . )
10 .
Sp e cia l at t ent ion i s t o be paid to d e v e lo pment i n th e t echnic a l
fio l ds of e duc a t i on and pro vi din g instr uction .
th ~
eve nin g ins titut es wil l play a domi n a nt r o l e i n
It i s a l s o p l a nne d to e xt e nd t ho numbe r of e v enin g /i m:;tit ut es
- 4 institutes so as to ensure that all students a re afforded an opportunity of being adequately prepared .
This a long with corr espo nd en ce cours a s
1
a
scheme which has been intensified with th e assis t a nc e of a spe ci al ist advise r provid ed by the Ford Founda tion (F.A . E) is int e nded to cope wi th t his v ery serious defic i e ncy of inadequa t e p r epa ration opportunitie s.
11 .
It sho u l d a lso be not e d th a t
the new scheme i s a lso definitiv e
as r egards te acher t rai ning r equir emen t s in th a t
the J ama ica Ge n e ral Certi-
ficate will be accept e d as th e minimum qualificat ion fo r e ntry to Trainin g It is hop e d that th e Jamaica
Colleges and for employmen t of prob a tion e rs. General le v e l
Certificat e will provide opportunities for studies a t
a fairly go o d
for th e thous ands of young people wh o have not been able to enter
or teehnical high scho ols .
h i g~
The v ar i e d n a ture of t he sy ll abus will giv e
opp ortunity for th eB to achieve succ e ss in a subject group for which th eir apt itudes fit th e m.
Along with th e provision for t u ition of candidat e s,
t h is should go a f a r way to reli e ving much of the disappointme nt a nd frustr a tion current among those who take the Loc a l
Examinations .
Introduction of the Examination.
12 .
These p roposals were r e f e rred to th e Education Advisory Co uncil
a nd t he JaJ.laica Unio n of Teachers. tions stressed th a t
Both bodies in endo r sin g th e r e comm enda -
the e xisting examina tions should not be abol ish ed befo re
t he new ones are firmly e stablished.
With t h is th e Minist ry of Educ a tion
agrees .
13 .
The n ew sy llabus es for th e Jamaica Gen e r a l
Certificate hav e
a lready been fr a med by a Special Committ ee and are re a dy for issue.
The
Education Advisor y Cou ncil and the Jamaica Un ion of Teo.c he rs were given th::; opportunity of studying these propos e d syllabuses and of comm e nting on t horn before they we r e finally fr a med. 1~- .
In o:;:_9-.-£E to give t c·a ch e rs a nd the
ge~~+-1-:mblic
c:ve"E_y
OJ:l)?. Ortuni t ;J' of dig e sting the new p roposals a nd to allow for administrative ~_r_E~-:J. g~ments ,
it
i_~ r~osed
th a t
t~10
t he n ew examinatio ns b e in t ro d uc ed for
Tho e xisting e x am inat ions will be ab olished with in a r easonabl e tim e a ft e r tha t
gr a du a l ~z
da t e .
The Cost.
15 .
The co s t of impl ement in g t hose proposals is es timate d to be as
follows
1964/65 Annual c ost of conductin g a ll existing e xams.
Cost of School Leaving &: Int e r-mediat e Exams.
£
Re duc ed e x pen diture on abolition of e xisti n g loc al e xa1:1.s .
Net Incr eaG e e v e nt uall y
.0
i:::V
30 , 500
11,010
The abov e assumes that in
7,250
3,760
1964 a p proximate ly 17, 000 pupi l s jsit
~ ill
-. - 5 -
sit the School Leaving Certific a te Examination and 4,000 th e Jamaic a Interm e diat e Certi ficate . 16 .
The Honourable Hous e will be invit e d by r es olution to
approve these p ro p osals so t hat steps can be tak e n in good time to introduce the School Leaving Certificate and Jamaica General Certificat e exami nat ions in 1964 .
MIN I STRY OF EDUCATION 23rd February , 1962 .
t !i
..
Hori. Minister of Educ a tio~, .·
'··.· ~ .
.i '
We
. B,~port of the Committee appointed by the ].finister · ·· · ·· of Education to con s ider Local Examinations .
'
were ~ppoint~'d ·by you to serve on a committee \7i th
ing t erms of ref e rence
the follow-
~-
In the light of education . developments in tho isl a nd 1 to examine the structure of local examina tions and to r eport to the l'li ni ste r with particular r eference toLocal Examina tions; (: ·~~al Jamaica Jamaic a Certificate of Education;
th e desirability or otherwise of instituting a school le aving CBrtifica te for senior school and all-age school le av ers; (d) certifica tes for pa rt-time s tudents a ttending technical high schools and evening institutes; (e) what examination system is needed for s tudents who continue courses aft er the school-leaving age on either full-time or part-time ba sis; (f) any other relevant matt er.
2.
The personnel
of th e committee was as
follov~
:-
Mr. R. E. Mai s - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education - Chairman ~tr. P. C. c. Evans - Educ a tion Adviser, Vice Chairman. Mr. J, E. Brovm Adviser on Technical Education Mr. R. M. Bent Chief Educ a tion Officer Mr. G. H. Owen Principal, Mico Training College Mr. U. C. Wolfe Pr esident,Jamaica Union of Tea ch ers Miss Shirley Gordon - Lecturer, U. C.; W. I. Mr. Hugh Falkner - Principal,Collogo of Arts, Science and Technol ogy Mr. R. C. Tav ares - Principal, Vauxhall Senior School Mrs. E. Dalton-James, M.B.E., ~L.C. Mr. E. H. Cousins - Principal Education Officer, Ministry of Edu cation Miss E. M. Rhodd, M. B. E. . Mr. J. J. Mills, O. B. E. Mr. P. A. Broderick.
Jamaica Local Examinations
3.
The Jamaica Loc al
Examinations originated as the Pupil
Te acher s
Examination in the last q_uarter of the last century, lit that time they were the sole medium of t ea cher recruitment, and holders of the Second, Third and Fourth Pupil Tea chers Examinations t aught f or small salarie s as unregist ered t eo. chers.
Tho se who pa-ssed tho :F'ourth Examination, or the Trird aft e r the
examinations had been reduced to thr ee , became eligible to sit tho entr ance examinatioh to training colleges.
· Before the · end of the century there was
such a demand for grammar school educ a tion and so few opportunities of provid-
.
ing it, tha t the senior sections of all- age schools began to send a l arge number 'of pupils for the
examinations as 'Volunteer' candida tes as a
vmt ored down substitute for secondary education, diminished as rapidly as the ~umber' of
The number of pupil t eache rs
1 volun1;e.e rs 1
increased. During
the
(.'
/1 930 ' s
- 2 1930's the name
"Pupil Te a chers Examina tion" was changed to "Jamaica
Lo.cal Examination". of
For many years up to the present time the number
candid~t~.s ~~ttin-g' ,~J:+e' - e~~aminatioris has ranged batween n,oOJ and
_)4.,_QOO. - Th~sE3. examinat:i,.on.swere of particular value in the rur al p arts of Jamaica where there vas little opportunity ~or adolescent girls a nd boys on leaving prima ry schools to receive education beyond the level of
the senior grades of those sch.~ols or to qualify for satisfactory
employment.
Therefore they went outon the
of the umemployed
stre~t;s
to join the r anks
and unde:r:-employed unless primary ::;;chool t e ache rs
got hoid of them and influenced them to return for . private lessons towards sitting the Jamaica Local Examinations. ~i)
The examination is in three stages taken at the average ago of 1st J. L. 2nd 5-. L. . 3 rd -.T. L.
c. 12-14 c. 14-16
E.
E. E.
There is a wide spread of purely
c. 16 up to even 24
academic subjects, v-rhich include general
science and .arithmetic, but no practical subjects. 1st and 2nd .Year o
English
Lang~i'age
~ . · .A:d thmetic
and Literature
General Science Scripture
e
C-eogr~phy .
·· f
Historj arid--Civics
3rd
Year
All the above plus either Teaching or one of the followingg -. -- --- ---- - '; . _Home Economics · Agriculture Commercial Practice.
( ~i)
The Third Jamaica Local Certificate is the ch:ief passport
to probationer teaching, Caledonia Junior College and training colle.gos It. is also. used
for entry to nursing, Jamaica School of Agriculture and
the Police Force, etc. Its standard .is much below that of the School ~'0"-
Certificate or the G. C.E vices which have .used it
~n
level, and all the institutions and ser-
the . pat)t are
J:;lOW
demanding a higher standard
of entry with .-greater re}. evance to the demands of a changing J amaica • . . . ',, t ' .
4.
For many years thy
.
!. .amp.~ca
:.
.
•.
•
~
•
Local Examina ti9ns have . been under gr uve
criticism on . severa;I. coun.t_s both by the general public and by the Jamaica -. ..•
.
.
Uni.o n of Teachers.
, ·'
,
i.ts~lf.
_.
.
'
You;r
·.. :L .
~
.
~ommi :tte_e
is of
opin:~on
that the time
has long come when an examina tion which is relevant to the needs of the /young
..
young
people,and of an accept able s t andard, should repl a ce the Jama ica
Local Examina tions,
The main criticisms are as follovvs g-
(a)
The content of the syllabuses is entirely bookish and out of rel a tion to the changed needs of some 14,000 young peopl e who pursue .the exnminations yearly. There Eire no practic al subjects included, and us eful subjects like mathem2tics and science are barely t ouched upon. No foreign language is included,
(b)
It is considered to be unsound that the be taken in thre e s t ages ,
(c)
Teaching for these examina tions takes place for the most part at evening classes when pupils are tired and hungry. Methods a re chiefly cr amming and regurgitation.
(d)
St andards set for pa ss ing have been extremely low, and Quit e often, in order to maintain nb out a 20% pass of some 14,000 pupils annually, some amount of accommodation of weak candida t es ha s t aken plac·e .
(e)
These examinations do not enjoy the respect of the employing public, yet the majority of young people who a r e compell ed to work a t 16 or 17 have no other opportunity of ge tting anything of greater value.
examinE~tion
shoul d
Jamaica Certificate of Educ at ion
5,
Throughout
1952 - 54 a widely repre sent a tive committ e e appointed by
the Education Department considered plans for the abolition of the Jama ic a Local Examina tions and for their r epl a cement by a new examina tion called the Jamaica Certificate of Educ ation. The examination was to be in two stages The first was set f or the first time in (i)
c.
The Fir s t J.
the First and Second.
1955, and th e second in 1956.
E. - Subjects and ·Groupingsg A_._Q _:~mpul sory Subj oct s.
g~
Eng2. ::_ 1 Langu age and Composition Soci. =;_ Studies (two papers) (History, Civics, Geogra. . phy) Arl. thmetJ.c.
(3) '
"'_•.r.' ;.
'
( ))
1 2
3
4
5
6 1
B, Optional Subjects Gener al ~~a thematics( Algebr a and Geometry) He alth Science Biology English Lit~r n tur o Religious Knowledge Woodwork MUsic (Theory)
N, B,
Students a r e r eQuir e d to commence s~udies in the follo v;ing subjects during prepar a tion f v-._ tho first examination if they are being off erod in the se cond ex amina tiong La tin,Spanish,French, Art To ' reach the standard reQuired in the se . subjects in the second examination a t least three years of preparation a re nocossary. /In addit ion t o
- 4 • ,i.
~
•
,·'
. i-
•
In ad ditio~ to the thr ee compul s ory subjects, c a nilidates may .offe r a ma;xinrum of f our optio nal subj octs. To obt a in a pa ss in th e examinc.t tilbn as a \vhol e , · c an di da t es ll1L).st .• p3:ss in .a t •1 o ~ s t t v1o optional . subj e cts, and failure in a dcl iti!bno.l subjects off e r e d a bov e the minimum two does not aff e ct c andida t o s el igi bl e for .. a . pa s:s awa rd in the e~amin a ti o n as a whole.
. ·f.
i_"_
The st andard v7as : set a t about the old CambricLge Junior Cer.tif i c <1 tc . f
but is perhaps a better exami n ntitbn as optitbns a re wider a nd cont ent .
care.fui:).. y sel e ct ed . for rel,evance . to J ama ic an condi tioris.
Pupil s could b o
t aught whole-time in scho ol s for thi s examina tion b e tween 13 and ( ii)
VJ.::t s
I
15.
The Second J. q. E ( tak e:n a t 16-.. in a t least a two-year courso)§lbjects and Groupingsg . A. Compulso r y Subject
English Language ·. B. Optional Sub,j ects
(1) History and Civics
g~ ~~~~~:~~lc, A~geb;~,
.. Geometry
.. ,
( Mat~~~~tic-~)
( 4) Health Science, Biology, Bot any ( seo not e) · (5) La tin (6) Spanish (7) English Litera ture (8) Commerce ( 9) Woodwo r k (10) Agr icultural Science ( 11) . French . (12) Home Economics or Needlework (se e not e ) ( 1 3 ) Reli gious Knowledge ( 1 4 ) Art .
'. -~
. b. '· .A cicH tiorie,i ·· St_ib~ e ct ,J
.· .
.
.
.
liritb.iiietic (not . ·.
'
~- -'·
;
~
.
( a) Provi s ion i s made for · a sepa r a t e arithmetic
N. B.
:· ;_
to . count as a full optitbnal subj oct)
paper whi;c;h .ma:y .be t aken as distinct from the paper.
mathema~ics
(b) :'.Subj .e ct s fb r ~ ·whio'h the re is a n alt e rna tiv e , c . G· home e conomics or noedl evvo rk, may not be t ~1ken t oge t her.. . ..
(c) If only four q·p tionaJ;.s a r c being t aken, bot any or
i'.
.··,.
.~:. ~ . ::~
.'
.
health .• science may ncrt be t ake n with biolo gy, but ·may 'be ; taken . together as two optional s . If five op:tiont:J-1 s '· are' being t aken, any two of three subj oc t s (bot En1y, he alth science a nd·. bt~logy0may be taken. If six optional s are being taken~ all . three .s u-bJ e cts may be taken.
~ ~
. ' The on],y compuJ,soty subject is English langu age · and op'tJ.ons include practical subjects a nd language~. Content was oa:refully s elected for -· -· ~-~ ' . " _ ·..: -. -· .. .. : :.· ,· r· ··:rel ev artC'e~ : . . . :. ..
.
.
~-
.
•, ; _
I .. ..
Eligibilit~-~ . . 't.
Eligibility t6 : sit this examina tion de pends on l - ' ·~ ·: . • .
•.
•
'
: !
.
.· ....
0