EDUCATION MINISTER Andrew Holness doesn't like the word 'chaotic' to describe what has happened with grade-10 students at Steer Town Primary and Junior High School.

We are confident, however, that he won't quibble at a characterisation of the events as messy. For, truth be told, it could, if Mr Holness thinks about it, be called much worse.

Indeed, the minister's explanations notwith-standing, the development suggests a significant level of disorganisation and poor planning by the technocrats at National Heroes Circle. They ought to have forecast the outcomes, assuming that the education ministry has predictive models at its disposal and the technocrats know how to use them. Mr Holness often speaks as though they are available and that he is versed in their application.

Danger of losing students

In so far as the issue has been pieced together, the education ministry faces a shortage of space for grade-10 students - part of a group of children of which up to 35 per cent of the age cohort, the minister informed us during his July parliamentary presentation, are not in school. In other words, they represent a big chunk of the 14-16-year-olds who are in danger of falling between society's cracks. A big part of the problem is that there are not sufficient school spaces to deal adequately with this group, which underlines the issue at Steer Town.

The school does not, at this time, accommodate grade-10 students, although new facilities are being built in line with a host of strategies articulated by Mr Holness to deal with the problem in education, in general, and those faced by the 14-16-year-olds, in particular. The Steer Town upgrade, however, is very far from being complete and is unlikely to finish in the current school year.

Yet, the school was assigned 115 students, based on their performance in the Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT), which measures the performance of students after an additional three years of what, essentially, is enhanced primary-level education. They, at this stage, should be ready for full secondary education, but usually are not. It is not uncommon for the education ministry to be floundering around near the start of the school year for schools at which to place these youngsters. The matter, though, is usually resolved before the school year begins. Not this time!

Last-minute efforts

So, more than 100 post-GNAT students were enrolled at Steer Town with no classrooms to accommodate them. Nor were teachers in place.

The upshot is that the ministry, at the 11th hour, is scrambling to erect temporary wooden structures to be used as classrooms and there are also last-minute efforts to recruit teachers. Meantime, the new school year has started and these students remain, by and large, in a state of flux.

Indeed, as is clear from Wednesday's report in this newspaper, Steer Town's principal, Erona Brown-Dean, was under the distinct impression that she was being asked to cater to new grade-10 students, especially for whom she was recruiting teachers. Mr Holness tells us that they are, in fact, grade-nine repeaters, based on their performance at GNAT.

Now, if all this is not chaos we do not know what is. It is damaging to the students and runs the risks of undermining Mr Holness' reform effort.

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