BPIAJ welcomes review of Ja’s education system

THE BUSINESS Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) is lauding the decision by the Government to undertake a comprehensive review of the education system starting in 2021.

Jamaica’s participation in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) will be undertaken at a cost of over $116 million over a four-year period and will be done by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, portfolio minister Senator Ruel Reid revealed recently.

“We at the BPIAJ welcome this initiative by the honourable minister as this assessment of 15year-old students can identify the strengths and weaknesses of our education system; paving the way for the secondary and vocational training institutions to develop the remedial training programmes to ensure the system is outputting the right talent,” Gloria Henry, BPIAJ president, said. “In the global services sector where BPO is one segment, there is an increasing demand for interpersonal skills and higher cognitive skills to supplement technical competencies.

“The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are no longer the minimum requirements for labour; there is greater emphasis placed on creativity, critical thinking, decision making, and complex information processing in the workplace.

“Outsourcing is a dynamic phenomenon, and as we seek to advance up the value chain, the demand for critical talent along all verticals will continue to grow. Therefore, if Jamaica is to remain competitive in any global sector, it will have to set its benchmarks to global standards,” Henry argued.

“To plan for the future, we must ensure that we properly prepare the youths, equipping them with the expertise and skills that enable them to adapt to the rapid global changes taking place in all fields of development and knowledge.”

PISA is a worldwide study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development every three years. It evaluates educational systems by measuring the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in the subjects of mathematics, science, and reading.

According to Minister Reid, the project will facilitate the evaluation and ranking of the Jamaican education system with other countries, joining Trinidad and Tobago as the countries in the English-speaking Caribbean currently participating in PISA.

PISA reaches more than 80 countries globally.