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advisory and consultative regional services previously provided by the West Indies Colonial Development and Welfare Organization, including those in education. On this basis, plans were made and carried out for the Organization to wind up its activities and terminate its existence when the Federation came into being, early in 1958.

The West Indies Federation

Under the Constitution of the West Indies Federation, govern mental responsibility for education remains primarily a function of the individual Territories. In non-Federation members British Guiana and British Honduras, responsibility is exclusively a territorial function, subject to cooperative arrangements in regional educational undertakings, such as the University College of the West Indies (UCWI) and the Eastern Caribbean Farm Institute. In the Federation, the Federal Government has only those powers and functions which are specifically granted it or which may be regarded as incidental to those so granted. They are specifically included either on the so-called Exclusive Legislative List of functions to be exercised solely by the Federal Government, or on the Concurrent Legislative List of functions which may be exercised by either the Federal or the Territorial Governments. The only educational function over which the Federal Government is given exclusive control is the University College of the West Indies (Paragraph 17 of the Exclusive Legislative List). The Concurrent Legislative List provides for two types of educational services over which the Federal Government and the Territorial Governments may exercise jurisdiction: (1) under Paragraph 33, professional, technological, and agricultural education, training, and studies, subject to the exclusive control of the Federal Government over the UCWI, and (2) under Paragraph 32, Student Services, i.e., financial and other assistance for persons receiving university education, or education or training of the type referred to in Paragraph 33.

It is thus clear that the Federal Government has the authority to develop programs of the nature indicated, both inside and outside the UCWI, as well as exclusive authority for latter institution. How this authority will be exercised remains to be developed, but there were indications in 1958 and 1959 that the Federal Government, and the Territorial Governments as well, hoped to move ahead in these fields in cooperation with such outside sources of support as the United Kingdom Government's Colonial Development and Welfare resources, United Nations agencies, the United States Government's International Cooperation Administration, and private Foundations. In June 1959, technical assistance agreements were signed between the West Indies Federal Government and the International

Cooperation Administration providing the basis for cooperation in several fields, including certain aspects of industrial arts, commercial, and technical education.

Another development in the role of the Federal Government in Education has been the appointment of a Federal Education Advisor. Strong support for the plan to have the Federal Government assume responsibility for advisory and consultative regionwide services in education was expressed by Territorial Directors of Education, Education Officers, and others concerned with education, when they met at the Regional Conference on the Training of Teachers in the British Caribbean in 1957. This Conference, the last regional meeting in the field of education before the birth of the Federation, recommended

* that the Federal Government should continue and expand the advisory services now made available by the Development and Welfare Organisation, and that in addition to a Chief Education Adviser and an Adviser on Technical Education, a woman Adviser especially concerned with the education of women and girls should be appointed.

The Conference also took the view with respect to various fields of education generally, and specifically in teacher training, that a regional outlook should prevail and various problems should be approached from a regional point of view. More will be included about the application of this principle to various types and levels of education in the British territories.

As had been anticipated and planned, the position of Federal Education Adviser was established and placed in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs when the Federation came into being early in 1958. Named as the first incumbent was the then Director of Education of Jamaica. The position of Adviser on Technical Education in the Office of the Federal Education Adviser was also established, indicating the importance attached to this phase of education. The development of the specific functions and role of the Federal Education Adviser was one of the problems facing the Federal Government in 1958-59. There is no specific provision in the Federal Constitution for the position or its functions. There was general feeling that the substance of the position would be something which to a considerable extent would fall to the Adviser himself to work out after consultations with the Territorial Education Departments, taking into account the limited official functions of the Federal Government in Education. It was anticipated that his role vis-a-vis these Departments would be one of furnishing ad

5 Development and Welfare in the West Indies, Bulletin No. 39, Report of the Regional Conference on the Training of Teachers in the British Caribbean, 25th June-5th July 1957 (Barbados, 1957), p. 39 (referred to hereafter as Teacher Training Conference Report).

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visory and consultative leadership, as had been that of the Development and Welfare Organization's Education Adviser. Some suggestions as to specific functions he might undertake were made at the aforementioned Regional Conference on Teacher Training, and these will be referred to as various aspects of British West Indian education are discussed.

Education Development Plans

As noted in Chapter I, Governments of British Caribbean territories are attempting to meet educational problems and needs by formulating and carrying out educational development plans. Most of the territories have such plans, usually as a part of larger programs for economic development. These programs in general give a high place to education and are strongly supported by Colonial Development and Welfare Funds. In most territories current plans are continuations with modifications of ones initiated after World War II.

Thus, Jamaica launched a general 10-Year Development Plan in 1945, followed by a new 5-Year Plan in 1955 based on a survey made by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This Plan was expanded in 1957 into a 10-Year (1957-67) National Long-Term Plan for Jamaica, which specifies in some detail the need and program for educational development. In conformity with this plan, some 15 percent of the Jamaican Government's funds-the second highest percentage in the Budget-were assigned to education in 1958. Since Jamaica is the largest and most populous Territory within the West Indies Federation, and its problems and needs, while by no means identical with those of the other Territories, are similar to those of other West Indian Territories generally, the rationale and summary of the objectives of its 10-year education plan are of some interest. Pertinent paragraphs of the Plan read as follows:

Unless some attempt is made to train Jamaicans at all levels, economic development may be bogged down by lack of skilled personnel. A minimum of literacy and basic knowledge is essential if there is to be easy communication between officials and farmers, between producers and their customers, and if science is to be applied to the land or to industry even in a small way. For this reason a major part of the Long-Term Development Plan is the provision of at least five year's primary education for every child. Having established this basis all the other forms of continued education become more useful, and if every Jamaican child has a minimum chance there is a greater likelihood that the cream of the island's youth, irrespective of birth, will be available for the higher educational opportunities.

There is to be compulsory primary education for all children aged 7-11 years. As a result of this it is hoped that the sections of the community from which pupils to secondary schools are enrolled will be considerably

widened. Within the plan period the aim is to provide free secondary education for at least 60% of the enrolment which is to be rapidly expanded from the present 10,000 to around 26,000.

There will be several streams of elementary and secondary education— academic, technical, agricultural-to fit the needs of children of different levels of ability and with different professional inclinations. To meet these needs the Government will train more teachers, provide more school accommodation and will institute a programme of labour training so as to equip the labour force with skills which are necessary both to make Jamaica an attractive labour market, and to service the development plans. All these needs are provided for and correlated in the Plan in addition to a generous addition to the scholarship provisions both at the secondary, teacher training and University levels.

Considerably increased facilities for training will be made available through the Trade Schools, the Apprenticeship Scheme and the Technical College, while the Post-Primary section of the Elementary Schools will emphasise vocational training. There is also provision for more training in industry, and on the job, and for example special plans are proposed for training hotel employees in collaboration with the hotel industry."

The spread of literacy and basic general education through the [aforementioned] programme * * * will provide the vehicle for greater social, political and cultural awareness at all levels of society. This formal educational programme will be reinforced by the work of the various Social Welfare Services, with programmes for civic and cultural education, and for training in group participation, among adults in the backward areas. The Education proposals allied to the Agriculture proposals form the core of the Plan. To provide an opportunity for every Jamaican child to have five years of elementary schooling is a major revolution in educational policy. From this decision flow many others which accept the need for a greater supply of teachers, a greater demand for secondary and higher education, which when met will in itself increase the supply of teachers, and the need to meet technical and vocational demands to a greater extent than heretofore."

Other territories have similar Plans. Thus, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago initiated a general 5-Year Development Program in 1951 and began a second 5-Year Program for the period 1958-1962, inclusive. With respect to education the Program states:

Increasing political independence postulates a literate and informed people; economic aspirations demand skills and abilities in the industrial and agricultural worker. The education system of the country will be

reviewed and remodelled towards the achievement of these ends.8

The specific aims of the Government in the 5-year period of the Program are listed as follows:

(1) To provide adequate facilities for the basic education of children and adults

6 Government of Jamaica, A National Plan for Jamaica, 1957-67 (Kingston, Jamaica, 1957), p. 4.

7 Ibid., p. 5.

8 Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Five-Year Development Programme, 1958-1962 (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, 1958), p. 43.

(2) To provide additional facilities for technical education

(3) To increase the number of secondary school places and the number of awards for free tuition as the first step towards the ultimate goal of free secondary education

(4) To provide additional scholarships for study at University level to persons with sufficient ability to qualify for the professions and for key posts in the Government Service, in order to implement the policy of filling posts in the Civil Service and private industry with suitable local candidates

(5) To intensify the local training of Civil Servants and to ensure full efficiency in the administrative arm of Government

(6) To provide facilities for the training up to Government standards of a greater number of people

(7) To increase the information available to the public by intensifying adult education and full use of Government Broadcasting time."

Likewise, Barbados initiated in 1955 a 5-Year Development Program, including provision for educational development, and extended it in 1957 to 1962. British Guiana, a non-Federation territory, included in its 10-Year Development Program for 1946-56 substantial allocations for education. Modifications and extension of this Program into a new 5-Year Development Program for 195660, inclusive, took place after the visit of an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Mission in 1953-54. In its education aspects the British Guiana plan has emphasized expansion of physical facilities to meet increasing enrollments and replacement needs. With respect to the British Guiana education budget generally, there is the same upward trend in the matter of percentage of total funds devoted to education in Jamaica and that which exists elsewhere in British Caribbean territories. In the 3-year period 1954-57, the percentage of total government revenues devoted to education rose from 10.7 percent to 13.6 percent. More of the territory's funds were spent on education in the latter year than on any other function except medical services."

9 British Guiana Education Department, Triennial Report, 1954-57, mimeo., p. 7-8.

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