Dr Walton Small, the opposition People’s National Party’s (PNP) deputy shadow minister for education and training, is calling for a revamp of public school boards, contending that more individuals with the qualifications to provide leadership and support to the principal and teachers must be included.
The renowned educator, who served stints as principal at Anchovy High School in St James and Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Kingston, said that school boards held the highest level of authority and are responsible for the governance machinery.
“As principal at Wolmer’s Boys’ School, I had to be accountable to the individuals on my board for what I did, but guess what, they ensured that they gave me the resources,” said Small.
Public school boards are appointed by the National Council of Education (NCE), a statutory body falling under the Ministry of Education Youth and Information.
“When you put people who do not understand how education operates, there is always [going to be] conflict between principal and board members and teachers, so we need to fix that by ensuring that we have the right people in place to operate the school,” argued Small.
