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What would Norman Manley say?
DIANE ABBOTT
Sunday, April 27, 2008
jamaica observer
If there was ever a political party in the world which had an issue at the very core of its being, it was the People's National Party (PNP) and its stance on education. So it was unusual to see PNP General-Secretary Peter Bunting criticise the very principle of free education in his budget speech.
DIANE ABBOTT
He complained about the JLP's "populist agenda items" and went on, "The very idea of freeness can always be relied on to provide some popular response (but) I believe this is bad public policy. The Government should play a supplemental role and even have to play a principal role, where necessary, to compensate for market and personal failure, but it should NOT from the outset assert a paternalistic type of responsibility."
Yet, from the very beginnings of the PNP, its belief in education was one of its defining characteristics. If Alexander Bustamante was the unsurpassed populist of his era, the PNP could point with pride to the intellectual calibre of Norman Manley and his leadership team. In 1939, 13 months after the founding of the PNP, Norman Manley, in his capacity as the organisation's first president, said "Education must be at the centre and heart of every change."
In 1958, in his very first budget speech as chief minister he said, "You are making a mockery of trying to create a nation in Jamaica if you do not provide the basic education for every child. If the choice is between saving the money and spending it that way, it must be spent that way."
His son, Michael Manley, had all of his father's fervour about education. In his 1973 book Politics of Change he wrote: "Every developing society must aim at free compulsory universal education as its national priority." Months later, in one of the most moving scenes of the new administration, the younger Manley announced free secondary education in that year's budget speech. "I say that I know the times are hard, but I think that helping to start a revolution in education to lift it from where the torch-bearers of the past have brought it now. there can be no compromise about this."
There was tremendous applause. And overcome with emotion, Edwin Allen, the staunch JLP adherent, but passionate educationalist, crossed the floor of the Parliament and shook Michael Manley's hand.
Of course, like many things promised in the first heady days of that administration, the reality was a little different from the vision. By 1975, the money had started to run out and schools were resorting to levying charges for things like toilet paper. But in the 1980s when Edward Seaga reintroduced fees at the university level, he was met with fierce opposition from students, lecturers and the PNP.
It may well be true to say that the current JLP Administration's promise of free education was opportunistic. And it may also prove to be true that it is not affordable in the current economic climate. But many would regret it if the PNP abandoned its historic commitment to free education. And this would just not be sentiment.
The assistant director-general of UNESCO, John Daniel, said recently: "Education for all is important for three reasons. First, education is a right. Second, education enhances individual freedom. Third, education yields important development benefits." And it is the development arguments that are most pressing for Jamaica.
It is difficult to see how Jamaica can survive and prosper in a modern, free market economy without investing in its human capital. And that means investing in education. And, although it is tempting to abandon the children of those too feckless to find the money for school fees, it is precisely the children of the underclass who need a good education (and the socialisation that comes with it) the most.
It is one thing to say that free universal secondary education is not affordable at the present time. But what would Norman Manley say about a PNP which abandoned the idea even as an aspiration?
DIANE ABBOTT
Sunday, April 27, 2008
jamaica observer
If there was ever a political party in the world which had an issue at the very core of its being, it was the People's National Party (PNP) and its stance on education. So it was unusual to see PNP General-Secretary Peter Bunting criticise the very principle of free education in his budget speech.
DIANE ABBOTT
He complained about the JLP's "populist agenda items" and went on, "The very idea of freeness can always be relied on to provide some popular response (but) I believe this is bad public policy. The Government should play a supplemental role and even have to play a principal role, where necessary, to compensate for market and personal failure, but it should NOT from the outset assert a paternalistic type of responsibility."
Yet, from the very beginnings of the PNP, its belief in education was one of its defining characteristics. If Alexander Bustamante was the unsurpassed populist of his era, the PNP could point with pride to the intellectual calibre of Norman Manley and his leadership team. In 1939, 13 months after the founding of the PNP, Norman Manley, in his capacity as the organisation's first president, said "Education must be at the centre and heart of every change."
In 1958, in his very first budget speech as chief minister he said, "You are making a mockery of trying to create a nation in Jamaica if you do not provide the basic education for every child. If the choice is between saving the money and spending it that way, it must be spent that way."
His son, Michael Manley, had all of his father's fervour about education. In his 1973 book Politics of Change he wrote: "Every developing society must aim at free compulsory universal education as its national priority." Months later, in one of the most moving scenes of the new administration, the younger Manley announced free secondary education in that year's budget speech. "I say that I know the times are hard, but I think that helping to start a revolution in education to lift it from where the torch-bearers of the past have brought it now. there can be no compromise about this."
There was tremendous applause. And overcome with emotion, Edwin Allen, the staunch JLP adherent, but passionate educationalist, crossed the floor of the Parliament and shook Michael Manley's hand.
Of course, like many things promised in the first heady days of that administration, the reality was a little different from the vision. By 1975, the money had started to run out and schools were resorting to levying charges for things like toilet paper. But in the 1980s when Edward Seaga reintroduced fees at the university level, he was met with fierce opposition from students, lecturers and the PNP.
It may well be true to say that the current JLP Administration's promise of free education was opportunistic. And it may also prove to be true that it is not affordable in the current economic climate. But many would regret it if the PNP abandoned its historic commitment to free education. And this would just not be sentiment.
The assistant director-general of UNESCO, John Daniel, said recently: "Education for all is important for three reasons. First, education is a right. Second, education enhances individual freedom. Third, education yields important development benefits." And it is the development arguments that are most pressing for Jamaica.
It is difficult to see how Jamaica can survive and prosper in a modern, free market economy without investing in its human capital. And that means investing in education. And, although it is tempting to abandon the children of those too feckless to find the money for school fees, it is precisely the children of the underclass who need a good education (and the socialisation that comes with it) the most.
It is one thing to say that free universal secondary education is not affordable at the present time. But what would Norman Manley say about a PNP which abandoned the idea even as an aspiration?
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