Andre Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Glen Mills

Celebrated Jamaican athletics coach Glen Mills has called for increased effectiveness in the education system and greater sensitivity towards student athletes, who struggle academically, noting that their troubles are also the result of an education system that is not best suited to meet their needs.

There have been several high-profile cases of student athletes having to sit out the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Boys and Girls' Championships as a result of not meeting the academic standard for eligibility, which stands at 45 per cent.

Mills, who coaches the likes of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir at his Racers Track Club, is of the view that the youngsters are not being helped by the publicising and heavy criticism of their shortcomings.

The coach also believes that local educators have been too silent on the matter and should recognise that they have a role to play in helping these student athletes, with a view to finding a solution that addresses the general deficiencies in the education system.

"More and more we get people affected by the eligibility rule and some outstanding athletes are denied the opportunity of participating. That is something that has to be addressed and a solution found because we can lose outstanding people, especially when the exposure of their deficiency is done in what I call, a very scandalous way," Mills said.

"It's no secret that the primary and all-age school system are woefully inadequate in meeting the needs of slow learners and those who need help, and they move up to the high school level, and unfortunately, whether it's time or resources, enough is not done to help them measure up to the eligibility standard," Mills added.

While accepting that the ideal system, secondary-level sporting institutions or academies, is hardly a possibility because of the country's current economic plight, Mills is convinced that a lot can be done within the current system to pay greater attention where it is needed.

"A lot more money is needed to fund the schools that we already have. Many of them are over-crowded and so on, so to create another system and finance it, I don't think the country is going to be in that position for a very long time," Mills said.