This is one of the most basic concepts in education, and it needs to be adhered to within the higher education sectors of Jamaica.
Government spending on education is also a major concern relative to the health of the higher education sector of Jamaica. During the 1980's the HEART (Human Employment and Resource Training Program) aimed at providing training and employment for unemployed youths finished with school. However, after half a decade of hard work, the program came under fire from politicians and citizens eager to find ways of cutting government spending. The project eventually fell by the wayside and the current status of higher education in Jamaica has certainly suffered....
Calling for a renewed sense of importance in the belief that government funding can make a difference is only part of the battle. The politicians and citizens associated with such funding need to feel as though they themselves are benefiting from a culturally relevant human resources development through education. Again, this starts at the grass roots level in helping to rebuild the higher education facilities in order to reflect uniquely Jamaican values,
norms, and cultural considerations.
Other CARICOM nations have found success in implementing culturally relevant programs and ideas to help restructure their post-secondary education sector. Jamaica can learn much from these successes as it begins to restructure itself. This realignment will act as a major cultural assertion of Jamaican identity and independence and help to remove emphasis on the British Colonial educational values and replace it with a uniquely Jamaican sense of purpose, meaning, and relevance. After all, just as CARICOM ministers and senior officials have stated, "Education is the 'gateway' to economic opportunity." It all begins with relevance.
