PEP transfer trap

Head of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS), Anniona Jones, is urging parents to carefully consider requests to transfer their children to other high schools following the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) placement process, warning that such decisions should be based on what is best for the child’s development rather than the perceived prestige of an institution. Jones also cautioned school administrators against accepting an influx of transfer students primarily for financial gain, arguing that overcrowding can undermine the quality of education and place unnecessary strain on teachers and school resources. She said she is aware that some schools have received 60 or more transfer requests and, while she understands that every parent wants the best for their child, not every school is equipped to provide the type of academic intervention some students need. “We have to be very careful about how we think of some schools as intervention schools or schools for children with low academic aptitudes, because as the children start to do better, people are still not going to want to place their children necessarily in those schools. You have schools that have low levels of enrolment, and then you have other schools that are bursting at the seams. “It becomes an issue, though, for school governance to be able to say to a principal and have that conversation at the board level that, ‘Listen, this school was built for X amount.’ I still don’t know why we have schools on [the] shift [system] when we have so many schools that are underpopulated. “It’s really…a policy issue, but a board can make a decision that we are going to limit our school sizes to no more than 22 to 30 children per class,” she told the Jamaica Observer. Jones argued that limiting class sizes is particularly important for schools offering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, which she said are best taught in smaller classes. She added that smaller class sizes would also ease the burden on teachers by reducing the volume of books to be marked and allowing more targeted feedback and individual attention for students. She noted that, in many cases, schools are reluctant to reduce enrolment because funding is largely allocated on a per-student basis, making lower student numbers financially disadvantageous. However, she welcomed the Government’s move toward a more equitable funding model, describing it as a positive step in the right direction. Jones also expressed concern about the growing costs parents incur while seeking transfers, noting that some schools charge application fees between $1,000 and $5,000. “If you look at the cost for transfer requests, you could have a school, in theory, getting a request of 100 children wanting to come in. If you charge each child $1,000, that’s $100,000 even if your school can only take in 20, so you could do a lot with an additional $100,000. Some parents are going around paying five schools $1,000 a pop or more,” said Jones. JONES…some parents are going around paying five schools $1,000 a pop or more…with no guarantee She added: “Some schools, I hear, transfers are as much as $5,000 just to request a transfer, and they are not guaranteed to get in. Parents have to also look at that as well and understand that placing your child in a school where your child may be in the bottom quarter, or smack in the middle, may not be as good for your child as placing them in a school where your child may come first, second, or third and get a confidence boost, or placing a child in a school that can cater to their needs,” she reasoned. Jones, who is the principal at Haile Selassie High School, added that, while traditional high schools often have a wider range of programmes and extracurricular activities, they can also place a greater financial burden on families. In contrast, she said some non-traditional schools may offer programmes that are better suited to a child’s interests and abilities while remaining more affordable. “Sometimes we have to be very discerning that we don’t spend all the money to buy the car but turn around and can’t buy gas and can’t change the tyre, or can’t deal with the servicing and upkeep after the free servicing is finished. “Schools need support to grow, so allow your child to be placed in an institution that can give you the financial wiggle room as well, to do some other things for your child. Otherwise, your child may go into these spaces, can’t function, and you can’t participate fully to keep the school offering what you say you want,” said Jones. She further urged parents to do their part in ensuring that the children they send off to these institutions can have a positive impact, especially for non-traditional high schools that have a stigma of being violent environments. “Send us the best version of your children, then we wouldn’t have to worry about the children, and every space can be a safe, developing, nurturing space for every child to be able to do all the things that they want to do, if parents are willing to help build it, fund it, create it,” she said. She added: “We have the buildings, we have these teachers, we have the class sizes; it makes better sense to me to place your child in a smaller school to treat with the PEP score,” said Jones. The principal highlighted that some schools have low levels of enrolment while others are bursting at the seams