Phillips Blasts School Leadership ….Teachers ….

In a wide ranging address Dr. Peter Phillips, Opposition Leader and president of the PNP was making his maiden contribution to the 2018/19 budget debate in Parliament for the first time as Opposition Leader.

Education Outcomes

Low level of expectations by some teachers.  There is need for the generation of interest in the education system. We should encourage the setting up of trusts …. low level expectation for poor people’s children is a form of apartheid in a two tiered education system.  We need intervention in the classroom to classroom, school after school.  Increased leadership training for principals.  Teachers were not passing on certain training learnt at college/university … they abandoned these when they go into the classroom. Put trained teachers in basic schools.

Commendation

Dr. Phillips commended Finance Minister Hon. Audley Shaw for his management of the economy.  “Shaw had an opportunity to expand the economy but instead he is more concerned about paying down the debt.” Asserts Dr. Phillips.

IMF

Recently the IMF had high praise for the government for their management of Jamaica’s economy.  The area head from the IMF Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan said  “All qualitative and quantitative benchmarks have been met and we support the budget but had concerns about crime and low GDP growth.” This makes us eligible to draw down of US$1.2 billion dollars from the after approval from the IMF board.

Crime

Murders last year were higher in 2017 than 2016. This year 2018 is 6 percent higher than 2017.  Government needs to apologize to victims of crime.

Wage Negotiations

Dr. Peter Phillips is suggesting that the government use funds in the National Housing Trust (NHT) and “give mortgage incentives to the teachers, police and nurses. If you did that long ago then you would not be having any problems now with feuding workers.” asserted Phillips.

Unemployment

The Opposition Leader took some credit for the significant fall in unemployment which has moved from 13 percent to 10 percent. He said this fall started in 2013 when the People’s National Party (PNP) was the government and continued under the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). government.

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is Senior International Correspondent & Photojournalist for Vision Newspaper Canada.