TRANSFORMING SECONDARY EDUCATION SERVICE PLANNING WITH GISTO - ADDRESS DISPARITIES IN CLARENDON, JAMAICA

Oct 15, 2026

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Educational disparity in equitable access to effective secondary education services remains a persistent challenge for Jamaica’s Ministry of Education, especially in Clarendon, where demands rise alongside geographic barriers, teacher shortages, insufficient infrastructure, and uneven resource allocation. This study uses a Geographic Information System (GIS) to assess spatial equity of secondary schools and related services. It finds overcrowding and access gaps, then applies a GIS location-allocation model to select sites that reduce pressure and support planning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Education equity and governance in Jamaica

Clarendon context and educational challenges

GIS-based spatial planning approach

TRANSFORMING SECONDARY EDUCATION SERVICE PLANNING WITH GISTO ADDRESS DISPARITIES IN CLARENDON, JAMAICA GARRY LOBBAN Ministry of Education, Kingston, Jamaica TEKLEAB GALA LESLIE BAKER-KIMMONS SAMANTA ALAM Chicago State University, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Addressing the educational disparity regarding equitable access and optimal services is a continuing challenge for government agencies mandated to promote quality education asa fundamental human right for every child. The Ministry of Education, Jamaica, is one of such government agencies facing challenges of ever-growing demands from population growth, geographical barriers, teacher shortages, inadequate infrastructure, and uneven resource allocation to deliver equitable access to quality education, particularly in diverse and dynamic regions like Clarendon. This study applied the Geographic Information System (GIS) approach to identify disparities in the spatial equity of secondary schools and services in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. Accordingly, though the spatial distribution of the secondary schools followed the settlement patterns of the Parish's population, the disparity in access to optimal services is evident in the school's overcrowding. Parish's secondary education is generally overcrowded by 28% more students, though the rate varies between schools (e.g., Claude McKay High) and subregions (e.g., 48% in Vere). GIS-based location-allocation model, considering parameters such as population demands, transportation infrastructure (accessibility), and school availability, selected three suitable sites (in Vere, Chapelton, and Alston subregions) for secondary school construction to dispel the current pressure on schools, validating the capability of GIS in unveiling educational disparities and sound planning for remedy. INTRODUCTION Article 26 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that education is a fundamental human right. In Jamaica, a UN member state, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is a government entity responsible for managing and administrating the country's education, with a mandate to secure and provide quality education to all citizens (Gordon, 2022; Thomas-Brown, 2020) . The MoE organized the country's education system into four levels: Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary and upper secondary school, and Tertiary (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2012) . According to Jamaican MoE (2012), early childhood education is a pre-primary school education on social skills and foundational learning for kids in the age category of 3-5 years, whereas primary education is for students in the age group 6 – 11 years and enrolled in grades 1 -6; where core subjects such as mathematics, English, Science, and social studies are introduced. Secondary education is for age groups 7 – 13 years and is divided into lower and upper secondary schools. Lower secondary school is grades 7 – 9 for students in the age group of 12 – 15 years to engage students with a broad curriculum of general education (Language and Literature, Math, Science, Social Sciences, Foreign languages, technical and vocational subjects) . Upper secondary school is between grades 10 - 13 for the age group 15 – 18 years. Upper secondary education prepares students for higher education or vocational training, depending on students' chosen career Educational Planning | Spring 2025 88 Vol. 32, No. 2 path. Tertiary education is for those students aged 18 years and vying for higher learning in colleges, universities, or vocational training institutions. The Jamaican MoE also divides the country into six education regions for administrative and operational purposes. These are Kingston, Port Antonio, Brown's Town, Montego Bay, Mandeville, and Old Harbor. Approximately 788,000 students are enrolled, and the demands for educational opportunities are growing due to population growth, the need for a higher-trained workforce, and an overwhelming perception that education is a reliabl

FAQs

What educational disparities does the study target in Clarendon, Jamaica?

The study focuses on inequities in spatial access to secondary school services, including overcrowding and uneven availability of optimal educational support across Clarendon’s subregions.

How does the study use GIS to analyze secondary education services?

It applies a GIS approach to identify spatial equity patterns of secondary schools and services, then evaluates access gaps using parameters such as population demands, transportation accessibility, and school availability.

What planning outcome does the GIS location-allocation model support?

The model selects suitable secondary school construction sites in Vere, Chapelton, and Alston to reduce current pressure on existing schools and address the access disparity.

Oct 15, 2026

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