Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Claiming that boys were outperforming girls in the area of science and technology at the Herbert Morrison Technical High School, St James, Principal Paul Adams yesterday challenged members of the Jamaican diaspora to assist in building science and technology labora-tories in schools across the island.

Speaking yesterday, during the Third Biennial Jamaican Diaspora Conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, Adams said that at Herbert Morrison, which has 1,583 students on roll, boys outperform the girls academically on internal and external examinations, as well as behaviourally.

He noted the three top groups were mechanical engineering technology, building technology, and electrical engineering technology.

"I am asking the members of the diaspora to assist us in two areas: science and technology; assist us in outfitting our science lab; assist us in outfitting our electrical technology lab; mechanical engineering lab; our automechanic lab," Adams said.

Evaluation instrument

"And I challenge you, if those facilities are in place and then the proper evaluation instrument developed by the Ministry of Education is applied, you would get a better output from our high-school education system," he told delegates attending yesterday's education workshop on the first day of the two-day conference.

Adams, who is a past president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, said the laboratories that exist now would never be able to produce quality students. He noted that state-of-the-art laboratories were needed for students at the junior level, as well as those preparing for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Advanced Level examination.

Adams said teachers in Jamaica were equally qualified but some schools were better equipped than others. He said high schools were in need of reading and mathematics laboratories, until the problems at the early childhood level are fixed.

The principal explained that boys at his school were performing well because of the technical vocational programme. He noted that such a programme calls for more creativity.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com