The following is a statement from Wesley Boynes, president of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA), regarding the performance of preparatory schools in the recent Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams

Allow me to congratulate all the grade-six students who were awarded government scholarships in light of their outstanding performances in the recently released 2023 PEP results.

Of particular interest is the performance of the students from privately run institutions, who, according to reports which came to my attention, were awarded 26 of the 28 available government scholarships.

I really think it is now time to stop taking for granted these annual performances by students from private institutions, as far as government scholarships are concerned.

“This is not only another outstanding performance from the private education sector, but further evidence right before our eyes, that the private education system in Jamaica, and particularly, the kindergarten and preparatory schools, are on to something which the relevant authorities and the private sector, would do well to pay attention to, learn from, partner with, and invest in, in a serious way,”

WESLEY BOYNES

I know that from time to time, we invest in sending teams to far-flung places like Singapore, Switzerland, etc. to see what we can learn from their education systems in order to implement it here in Jamaica. I am not sure how productive those exercises have proven to be in the past.

However, I would like to put to the attention of all who will listen, that our kindergarten and preparatory schools, which are led in most instances by local educators, have discovered a process which actually works and actually takes our students to another level of both academic excellence and most importantly, character development.

All of the leading high schools in Jamaica can confirm that they look forward to having the students from the kindergarten and preparatory schools. They are usually standout students who perform at high levels of excellence and have made significant contributions to the reputations of these institutions.

The kindergarten and preparatory school system, despite the lack of resources in many instances, and the well-documented economic and other practical struggles which private schools are currently facing, have successfully confronted, and taken by the horns, our cultural nuances, the uniqueness of the Jamaican society, and other local militating issues which Jamaica-based educators best understand, and they have uncovered a process and a high-level system which has proven to work continuously in Jamaica, year after year.

Again, I urge the authorities and the private sector to lay hold of this opportunity.

JISA is ready to engage with visionary collaborators. A strong, robust and strategic partnership with the Jamaican-birthed private education system is an increasingly worthwhile consideration to engage and invest in.

A formal study of what the Jamaican private schools are doing is surely now in order at this point, with a view to explore how we can ensure that more of Jamaica’s children can benefit. Too many of them are being left behind.

Again, let me congratulate all the students who have excelled, their parents, and especially, all my colleagues from the private-education sector, who had to fight their way through tremendously difficult challenges in order to maintain what should now be rightfully regarded as a world-class standard in the kinderprep schools for developing our children.

Well done! Keep it up!