THERE WERE IDEAS aplenty, but a lower-than-expected number of parents and educators on hand when Government launched a national consultation on education Saturday.

Ideas thrown up included long, wide sidewalks for all schools, a flexible school-leaving age, having the transfer from primary schools to only the four sixth form schools controlled by the Common Entrance Exam, a school bus service run by the Ministry of Education, and cutting out the dyes and additives from students' lunch-kits.

The wide-ranging National Advisory Commission on Education (NACE) town hall meeting at Deighton Griffith Secondary School in Kingsland, Christ Church, also covered violence in schools, the relevance of the Common Entrance Exam, zoning of schools and whether the school-leaving age should be raised from 16 years.

Minister of Education Ronald Jones launched the project, noting that it was one of the Democratic Labour Party's (DLP) manifesto commitments.

It was an opportunity for people to air their views "to help inform policy relative to education", he pointed out.

The ongoing consultation is part of the DLP's plan to make the education system more relevant to the country's development needs.

About 60 people took part in the consultation, including several members of the NACE and other teachers and principals.

Some people said privately that they viewed the turnout as too small, given the importance of the consultation.

The next phase of the programme will be held at Ellerslie Secondary School tomorrow, starting at 7 p.m. (TY)