Senator Professor Trevor Munroe

The development of a culture of lifelong learning marks a fundamental change in our approach to education, is an urgent need of the Jamaican people and a clear imperative of national development. Even as I commend one and all, may I be permitted to make a fundamental criticism and, hopefully, a constructive recommendation.

The criticism is this: Our institutions and our entities engaged in providing opportunities for lifelong learning focus much, as they should, on improving the preparedness of students in the competencies necessary for the world of work, but they focus far from enough on equipping participants with the values essential for the arena of life in modern-day Jamaica.

Yet it is necessary to learn to read and to write; to add and to subtract; to use the computer to work in teams; to problem-solve; to upgrade skills and attain higher standards whatever the occupation. All this is necessary and urgent but not enough to deal with the challenges we now face as a people and not enough to unleash the full power of education for self-actualisation and for national development.

In addition to being competence-oriented, education in Jamaica has to be, at all levels, values-based and values-centred. This means a number of things: As we reduce illiteracy, learning processes must emphasize the value of living in harmony with one another. As we raise levels of competence in Math and English, we must make our people understand the importance of being able to agree to disagree. As we lift the performance of our artisans, our technicians, our professionals, our administrators, our business people, our students of all ages and stages to world-class standards, we must uplift dramatically the willingness to see the other person's point of view, to do unto others only as you would have them do unto you, to be your brother's keeper, to keep going despite setbacks, to be open to new possibilities and to actively look for them.

Most of all, each stage of lifelong learning must not only inculcate new competencies but impart new levels of appreciation of ourselves, of our people, indeed of the potential of the whole human race. This has to be a conscious, central purpose of education for self-fulfillment and for national development just as centuries of colonial rule organized the central purpose of education to œcarefully nurture a deep sense of inferiority".

I repeat: Education must be as much values-centred as competence-oriented if we are to realize its full power in dealing with the urgent challenges of our time. And it must draw as much on non-formal channels “ in particular the television media in this information age “ as it does on formal educational institutions and economic enterprises.

Let me illustrate: Over the past few weeks had we been doing this we would have used golden opportunities to learn two opposite but related lessons: How invincible we can be when we combine professional competences with positive thinking and positive values. But secondly, how vulnerable and destructive we are when we combine incomplete education and poor training with negative values.

On the first lesson, we should not have failed to appreciate our worth, to understand the importance of combining skill plus teamwork when we watched the West Indies defeat England in the ICC World Cup Final. Still on the first lesson, we should not have failed to appreciate our ability to snatch opportunity from adversity when we watched the combination of competence and resolve as the Reggae Boys made history in defeating El Salvador in El Salvador. Still on the first lesson, we should have again learned the value of competences married to humility and patriotism as we watched our Olympians scale new heights in Athens.

Less obviously but equally importantly we should have better appreciated what we have and who we are “ and cast aside those who say we are good for nothing “ when two days ago President Carter, who praised Jamaica's electoral administration as one of the best in the world, was forced to condemn, in relation to the forthcoming U.S. Presidential elections, Florida's electoral administration as partisan and as not meeting international standards.

And I could go on to provide other examples but the point, I hope, is made. The power of education is enhanced if the learning process draws not only on formal classes but on everyday events brought into our homes by the television and the radio, everyday events, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, which teach us to appreciate who we are, our potential once we combine a high level of competence with a positive set of values.

The power of education and training to deal with future natural disasters must rest on two legs: A better and wider understanding of how to build, where to build and the enforcement of codes and standards governing both “ that is the knowledge, the œcompetence leg". But also a deeper appreciation of the importance of helping one another, of being firm with looters and predators “ the œvalues leg", so to speak of our learning process. But if everyday events are educating us to how powerful we are when we combine high competence with positive values, they are also teaching us how destructive we can become and are, when we combine incomplete and inadequate training and education with negative attitudes and values. I refer of course to the absolutely unacceptable levels of violent crime in our society.

As the 2003 World Bank Report put it, œThis breeds frustration and unemployment, leads to a cycle of anti-social behaviour and reduces the contribution of a potentially productive agent". Moreover, this high level of violent crime is dragging down our economic growth rate by about 6 per cent each year. In other words, if we deal more effectively with violent crime, no matter how much or how little we manage to grow, we can grow by 6 per cent more per annum.

An indispensable element, though obviously not at all the only one, of tackling the crime problem more successfully is more effective education, more meaningful life-long learning opportunities. But this education, if it is to really help to reduce youth crime has to impart marketable trades, skills, competencies to the youth. But at the same time, the education has to consciously combat negative values and seek to instill positive ones in the young people.

In other words, more than in relation to any other section of our people, the power of education to help deal with the challenges Jamaica faces is significantly reduced if we do not combine the training in relevant competence with the inculcation of positive values. In this regard, we have to raise the national pass rate to above 60 per cent in Grade II CXC Examinations and to above 30 per cent in Mathematics. But at the same time, not later on, we have to facilitate better appreciation among the youth of the force of argument as against the argument of force; the value of forgiveness over vengefulness; the importance of respect rather than disrespect for one another; the power of love over the cancer of hate; the importance of order and discipline over disorder and indiscipline. And while we uphold lifelong learning these values have to be more effectively inculcated at the early childhood level; otherwise, later learning will be build on a foundation of sand. And this we would certainly not wish to do.

And so I close with some conclusions: the media are critical to lifelong learning in Jamaica. They provide much opportunity for education and therefore they should be brought on to your Focus Group committee, if they are not already there. In the process of lifelong learning, greater pride of place has to be given to the early childhood stage. At all stages, our education must be values-centred as well as competency oriented. Let me wish your conference every success. Most of your educators, students, administrators, human resources development practitioners are doing a wonderful job. Let us strive for even higher levels of excellence and let us motivate those who are lagging to do better. The power of our education and the future of Jamaica, in large measure, rests on your shoulders.

Courtesy: PROGIS - HEART Trust/National Training Academy