“No school board should have less than 40% of either sex”

En-‘gendering’ good governance

At a time when Jamaicans are demanding greater accountability and probity in public life, at least one non-government organization is insisting that equal representation of men and women at all levels of leadership and decision-making is a critical measure towards  building good and effective governance  from the community to the national level. With specific reference to the composition of school boards, the Women’s Resource & Outreach Centre (WROC) with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) have brought recommendations to the National Council on Education (NCE) based on consultations with some 200 women leaders. These recommendations have come at an opportune time when the NCE is undertaking its reform agenda with a focus on making school boards more efficient, effective and accountable. Importantly, research has also shown that there is a positive relationship between effective school governance and students’ performance, hence the urgent need for improving the service that boards provide.

School boards play the critical role of ensuring responsible conduct, supervision and efficient operation of the institution; ascertaining that proper books of accounts and audits are maintained, according to stipulated regulations and guidelines, fostering positive and productive relationships within the institution and with the wider community; The revised criteria for membership on school boards that are currently being hammered out by the NCE are expected to support these objectives. The criteria require that all members must be fit and proper persons. This means that members must be persons of sound mind and have not been convicted of an offence. They should also have attained at least secondary level education. In addition to these criteria, the chairman of the school board should have a minimum of three years experience in supervisory management among other skills.

However, following regional consultations in Mandeville, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Portland women are recommending two additional criteria be added, in terms of how boards are composed. According to a report from WROC and FES, “the vast majority of participants in all four island wide workshops pointed to the importance of promoting gender sensitive considerations in the appointment of school boards.”   Specifically, the women are proposing a 60/40 gender balance for school boards and that “no board should have less than 40% of either sex.”  According to former chairperson of WROC, Linnette Vassell “this position developed out of an extensive discussion on the value that women can and do bring to decision-making and the barriers that obstruct women’s participation in leadership and governance.”

This issue of encouraging gender balance was one of fourteen recommendations proffered by the women to the NCE. Another important one was increasing the number of persons composing the Advisory Panel that select persons for school boards from three to five. It was proposed that a larger panel was necessary to provide greater community input in the selection process and balance the influence of Members of Parliament.

Another significant recommendation was that school boards members should undergo a period of mandatory training in good governance and leadership, understanding gender, conflict resolution and team building, financial management, meeting management and strategic planning, etc. In addition, it is being suggested that a person’s qualifications should not be the only consideration for nomination to school boards. His/her personal attributes should also be assessed. It is proposed that a psychometric test, administered by a trained mental health professional, be considered to capture this information.

And as an indicator that the women from the consultations mean business, WROC and the FES submitted a list of some 80 women from all parishes, who have indicated their interest in serving on school boards and to undertake training to this end. For more information on this article, please send your emails to communications@wrocjamaica.org.