The Politics of our Education System

Table 2C.X.C PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTS (JUNE - GENERAL PROFICIENCY) Results - Entries and Percentage Passes of Jamaican candidates


YEAR
% PASS
1982 65.71
1983 58.97
1984 57.61
1985 75.86
1986 68.8
1987 70.8
1988 50.1
1989 56.0
1990 28.4
1991 29.4
1992 41.6
1993 43.1
1994 53.3
1995 42.7
1996 57.5
1997 71.0
1998 47.0
1999 78.3
2000 76.2
2001 85.5
2002

SOURCE: i. STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF JAMAICA, 1990 - 1999
ii. STATISTICAL ABSTRACT (PUBLICATIONS 1982 - 1998: 52, 54, 60, 63)
iii. Jamaica Education Statistics, 1999 - 2000; 2000/2001

In 1985, the numbers of candidates who sat and passed the examination (Advanced Level Accounting) were 43.5 percent or 273 person from an aggregate of 628 applicants. This represents approximately a one hundred percent increase over the previous year. This success continued over into the following year with a minute improvement of 5 percent. There is a saying that goes "success is only for a season" and so it was when in 1987 the success rate fell to 37.7 percent (i.e. -10.8 percent). In 1988, a miraculous increase occurred when the success rate rose by 5.4 percent over the previous year. Then a flood of disappointing performances followed 1988, when the success rate fell exponentially by over 300 percent and the spiral continued to 1991. Although dramatic recoveries did occur following post 1991, the success rate is superfluous in comparison to that of Trinidad and Tobago in table 3 on page 9.

From table I, the success rate revealed that over the 20-year period, it is on only one occasion that the students' academic performance was approximately 50 percent and that year was in 1986. Therefore, this highlights the need for the re-evaluation of the Advanced Level Accounting examination as it relates to the candidates, the environment, the materials, the teachers and social factors; so that we may be able to address this issue before a major problem occurs in the future. Continuing on this path of a high failure rate at the Advanced level have implications for the accounting profession, the society and cadre of our accounting stock supply and so this matter is of concern to resident Jamaicans, non-resident Jamaicans and non-Jamaicans alike.

What next?

Paul Andrew Bourne
Graduate Assistant
The University of the West Indies
Mona Campus
Kingston 7
Kingston, Jamaica
West Indies