A recent check with several of Jamaica’s teacher training institutions resulted in a startling revelation for educator Sonia Fay Buckland. Most, if not all, of the teacher’s colleges on the island are no longer offering Religious Education as one of their programmes.
Buckland, a past student of Shortwood Teachers’ College had pursued studies in Religious Education and Guidance and Counselling.
She said she was told that Religious Education as a programme of study was no longer marketable, and in the case of Shortwood Teachers’ College, she was informed by a source that the teaching of this subject area was phased out around 2018. She also learnt that the former head of the institution’s Religious Education programme was asked to teach civics and that the mandate to shelve this course of study came from the Ministry of Education.
“The teachers’ colleges are there to train the people to go in the classroom to teach certain subjects. So if that subject is phased out and no longer in any colleges, what is going to be the ultimate result? No RE anymore is going to be taught in schools?” Buckland asked.
“Religious education is not going to be taught in school. And they are going to say, oh, there is no teacher there to teach Religious Education. No teacher [because] nobody wants to go into college to pursue Religious Education,” she told the Freedom Come Rain newspaper.
She refuted that view. “People are still interested in going to teach RE there, but it is not offered,” said Buckland, who wrote a letter to the editor outlining her concerns. (Please see the letter below).
The Freedom Come Rain contacted the Shortwood Teachers’ College to ascertain whether the institution offers a Religious Education programme and was told, “No, not anymore,” by a representative from Student Affairs.
A similar response was given when the Mico University College was contacted. At the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College, we were informed there used to be a diploma programme, but not anymore, and at the Bethlehem Teachers’ College, the Student Affairs representative also responded courteously, “No, we don’t”. The Church’s Teachers’ College Student Affairs representative said it would have to be pursued as a minor.
When the Freedom Come Rain news team enquired where a student could successfully pursue a programme in Religious Education, the recommendation was to contact one particular theological seminary in Kingston.
Buckland made a similar inquiry last month and was given the same response.
“I said, well, do you know any college that offers it? And nobody could tell me any college that they really know, any teacher’s college that they really know. They maybe will refer you to a theological seminary that offers it,” she realised.
The Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Act, 2025 passed by the Senate on April 25, 2025, requires teachers in Jamaica to hold a bachelor’s degree in education or its equivalent. Teachers already in the system without qualifications are mandated to upgrade their qualifications. The JTC Act has provided a transition period for existing teachers to meet these new standards. It is not known whether being trained at a Theological Seminary will allow for a student to matriculate into the public school system as a Religious Education teacher.
“The Jamaica Teaching Council Bill, 2025, is evidence of the determination of the Government of Jamaica to enable and support good-quality education for all our learners. Let us support our excellent teachers by giving them the standards they deserve,” Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, said during the passage of the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Act last year.
In the case of the Shortwood Teachers’ College, a Bachelor of Education in Religious Education was introduced in 2007. Based on a media report at the time, the B.Ed. in Religious Education had been in the works for many years but materialised while Elaine Foster-Allen was the principal of the institution. The then principal stated at the time that the programme was necessary, given the strong place that religion occupies in the life of the nation. A total of eighteen students were pursuing the B.Ed. in religious education, and there was interest from students from other disciplines and even from other Caribbean countries. In fact, one elective under the programme was oversubscribed. Efforts by the Freedom Come Rain newspaper to reach Foster-Allen proved futile as her phones went unanswered. She resigned as principal in 2012.
