THE EDITOR, Sir:

During the first staging of the prime minister's call-in show, a caller wanted to know what plans were in place for the young men of Jamaica who, because of the lack of opportunity, are left with little or no sense of direction.

Mr Golding responded by saying that he was recently informed by the Minister of Education that thousands of young men referred to as unattached are the ones who leave high school every year without one single subject, and that was a serious matter that the Government must address because that was a major part of the problem as it relates to creating opportunity. I would have thought that such significant information would have attracted much attention and discussion. What an oversight!

Distracted

High school is where opportunity begins, and this mentality has to be ingrained in our children because with all the emphasis on early childhood and primary education, high school is where the students become totally distracted, the very place where all that they were taught should be maintained and developed, making room for the most important stage of their lives.

RJR runs an ad telling young men to get an education. Very commendable, but all of the major players must take time out to look into what is really going on in most of our high schools because we won't be faced with just the problem of brain-drain; the teachers will soon have no one to teach.

I am, etc.,

JOY FRASER

Montego Bay