News

Prep or primary?

WESTERN BUREAU:

AT SOME POINT, every parent of a young child in Jamaica - those who can afford to have options, that is - faces the make or break decision of sending the little one to a preparatory or primary school.

It is not a decision to be taken lightly, as the child's success at even the very young age he/she enters a prep or primary school - usually at five or six - determines if he/she goes on to high school and, in turn, a tertiary education.

And, in fact, it can determine which high school he/she attends, which is not a small factor in determining the quality of the education that he/she gets.

Overcrowding

Parents, of course, generally want the best for their child, especially the best possible education, and what with the overcrowding which has plagued the primary school system there has been a rush towards the prep school system. In addition, even within the primary school system there is pressure for places at schools which have a good track record in preparing students for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

Social status is not to be ignored as well, as prep schools are being seen as at a higher level than the primary schools.

There are several factors that parents have to consider when thinking about sending their child to a prep or primary school.

Cost. Prep schools are, to use a single word, expensive. Fees hardly come in at under $20,000 per term, with bills of up to $30,000 being a distinct possibility. For those who would forget, there are three school terms for the year, so a bill of close to $100,000 for one child to go to school each year is not improbable. On the other hand, the primary schools cost much less to attend. In fact, at least in theory, primary school education is free, although of course there are bills to be met.

Hidden costs. In the primary school system, the fees tend to be pretty straightforward. In the prep system, on the other hand, many times an unexpected fee arises for things like field trips as well as general fund-raising. It is ironic, but true, that prep schools tend to lean more on the parents of their children than do primary schools.

Extra-curricular activities. Primary schools will have physical education programmes, but nothing near what a child in a prep school will have access to. A list of prep school activities can cover anything from karate to dance and swimming, activities which are simply not in the scope of a primary school. It must be noted, though, that accessing these pushes up the cost of a prep school education, as typically many extra-curricular activities have to be paid for.

Teacher-student ratio. Prep schools almost invariably have fewer students per class than primary schools, with implications for how much individual attention children get, as well as how much distraction there is in the classroom.

Quality of education. Smaller classes means higher individual fees, but those fees often mean that the prep school can hire a more qualified teacher - as well as pay them enough that they do not need to do 'hustling on the side' or are just so distracted and frustrated by financial matters that they cannot concentrate on teaching the children properly.

Exclusivity. The prep school can be a double-edged sword, in that the child can develop into a snob - but, at the same time, if the theory that higher income families are more stable holds true, then their classmates will be more likely to come from an environment that is more conducive to a generally higher standard of behaviour.

Taking all these factors into consideration, it is now up to the parent to decide if the prep or primary is the route to take with their child.