Shrinking numbers, growing fears at Bustamante High

BUSTAMANTE High School is fighting to keep its gates open as the institution grapples with a dramatic decline in its student population, falling from an average of 1,000 pupils five years ago to around 400 in recent days. School Principal Wayne Evans said the sharp decline is due to a combination of factors such as low admission rates and socio-economic challenges that see students leaving school before completing their educational requirements because of financial issues at home, with some opting to seek employment to help support their families. He said approximately 60 per cent of the school’s population are from single-parent households headed by mothers, and so in many instances the students drop out or are not consistent with class attendance because they have to become providers.

“If we start off with 100 children — particularly in upper school, our grades 10 and 11 — the economic pull for them to earn to support the family is very strong. So unless they’re doing well in school academically or they feel that they’re going to probably be able to pass the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, you’re not going to see them still in school because their mind is now on surviving, so they don’t finish school. We will lose approximately 20 per cent of them by the time they reach grades 10 and 11,” said Evans.

“[And] it’s not just that the children are thinking that [way], the parents are also pushing that on them. So by the time they complete their first term and do the exam in December, by January you start to have a significant fallout in population,” he told the Jamaica Observer. The principal said the reality is frustrating because he knows that quite a number of the students have the potential to succeed.

“Many of them come in as completely low-performing students who were well behind but you see where they are getting there. If we could keep them around long enough, for another year or two, you can get them to where they can advance academically. But what you find is that when you call the parents, they are going to [say] right to your face, ‘Look here, I just can’t afford to send my child to school,’ and you’ll see where these children are missing out on not being able to achieve what the potential is for them because they have to move to survival mode,” said Evans.

To add to the problem, he said the school has low admission rates fr…