A Call for Greater Recognition of Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

A Caribbean education leader is calling for greater recognition of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) in Montserrat and across the entire region.

General Secretary of the Jamaica National Parent-Teachers Association, Everton Hannam, claims that Parent-Teacher Associations across the Caribbean are being undervalued and reduced to mere fundraising bodies.

The education advocate is working to change that perception through a new regional initiative, which would give greater recognition to the associations.

Hannam,who is also interim president of the newly established Caribbean Council of National PTAs, says the critical role these organizations play in education is not being fully recognized.

He expresses concern about a troubling trend across the region where PTAs are viewed primarily as sources of financial support rather than meaningful partners in education.

Hannam describes how some school administrators approach PTAs with a narrow focus.

He says this approach undermines the broader collaborative role that PTAs should play in supporting education quality and outcomes. And in contrast, Hannam points to Jamaica, where PTAs have achieved meaningful integration into education governance and allows them to contribute meaningfully to education policy rather than simply serving as external funding sources.

Hannam acknowledges that financial constraints make PTA support necessary, but argues that this should be part of a broader partnership.

The collaboration with the government recognizes that “education is not just the role of government” but requires multiple stakeholders working together effectively.

The Caribbean Council of National PTAs, which includes founding members from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda, aims to address these challenges through principles of regional collaboration, because “right across the region including Montserrat, there are certain standards and there are certain norms that they establish”.

Hannam adds that he sees the Caribbean Council as a unit that ensures that children in the region will benefit and be able to compete efficiently, effectively in the respective education systems, within the region and externally.