This case study is about introducing computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in primary and secondary schools in Jamaica. The management of the educational system is school-based and, since 1989, the Government has imposed a policy of partnership with the private sector and communities in providing and reforming education in the 1990s. This case represents bottom-up educational reform as both the Government and the international agencies rendering development assistance have placed low priority on computer-assisted instruction in primary and secondary schools.

The present writer, Miller (1971), has postulated that one of the legacies of colonialism, slavery, and the adoption of British social philosophy in Jamaican society is that members of the society are socialized to habitually evaluate worth according to three major criteria: 

The following are excerpts from two interviews with Professor Errol Miller by Hyacinth L. Evans on June 6 and 14, 2005. These interviews are part of a series Professor Evans, chairperson of the Caribbean Journal of Education Editorial Advisory Board, is conducting with Jamaican educators whose progressive ideas on education have made an impact on education in Jamaica.

Errol Miller was president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, 1986–1987, at a time when the education system and the service sector in general came under severe pressure from international lending agencies—IMF—to curtail spending on the social sectors. It was during his incumbency that the government sought to close several educational institutions and reduce the teaching force because of budgetary constraints.

Teacher educators of Jamaica, particularly those who have been charged with leading institutions, will all agree that Professor Errol Miller is the consummate role model of a committed master teacher, professional, and a patriotic and loyal Jamaican.

I take special delight in adding my voice to all those who wish to thank Professor the Honourable Errol Miller for his many years of service to the cause of education, and particularly for his UWI years of national, regional, and international achievement and recognition.

The thought of retirement, or that Professor Errol Miller can retire, must seem an impossibility to those who know him. Professor Errol Miller is and continues to be the embodiment of the peak of energy, both physically and intellectually. Anyone who knows Professor Miller now must concur with that observation.