Mar 15, 2008 - 06:00 AM

By Josie Newman

DURHAM -- A debate Thursday at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology about the recent sanctioning by the Toronto District School Board of an Afro-centric school sparked a wide range of arguments and emotions.  

Sponsored by the Caribbean Student Association and the National Society of Black Engineers, the crowd of 120 students seemed equally divided in their opinions about whether such a school should be created. They heard two five-member panels debate the merits of inclusion, feelings of disenfranchisement, and an education that promises to have a strong emphasis on heritage and culture as a means of achieving better scholastic results.

According to the TDSB, there’s a 40 per cent drop-out rate among students of African heritage. The board is spending $820,000 to fund an Afro-centric school slated to open in September, 2009, to launch a pilot program of African history and culture in three existing schools, to establish a research centre at York University to determine the best way to improve the success of marginalized students, and to devise a strategy to combat underachievement for all marginalized students in Toronto.

Xavier Gordon, president of the Canada zone chair of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), opened the debate by saying, “It’s strange to see that some blacks are fighting to separate again, now that we have access to all the opportunities that others have. The Toronto school board is accountable to everybody, not just the African community.”

Sheila Emijjo, president of the Caribbean African Student Association countered that, saying, “This is not an issue of segregation. An Afro-centric school could address the high drop-out rate and try to keep kids in school.”

Some of the debaters suggested the high drop-out rate among black youth is because they feel disconnected with their learning environment.

“Numerous studies show blacks are behind whites because they do not connect with what they’re learning. It makes sense to create a learning environment that is conducive to them. We have a Euro-centric system and, if the other side wants to endorse that, I pity them,” said Sanifa Holaki, a member of the NSBE at the UOIT.

She cited a study indicating Afro-centric schools in Connecticut and Michigan have seen improved math and science scores among their students since they began attending black-only schools. 

But, Jarrelle Johnson, conference planning chair of the NSBE, cited a study discussed in a recent Toronto Star article in which black-only schools in Charlotte, North Carolina fared more poorly than other schools, ending up with lower test scores and fewer resources.

Jamie Smith, president of NSBE at the UOIT, added, “We spend $8,000 per year per student here in Ontario. We need to change the way education is delivered in the province, not build separate schools.”

Benedict Anozie, a UOIT student originally from  Nigeria who attended the debate, said, “I’m against Afro-centric schools. I come from a culture where I only mingled with other blacks, and I think they should give students the chance to see all sides of culture here.”

A female student originally from Jamaica said she’d attended multicultural schools while growing up there and said, “If diversity exists in the Caribbean and works, then why not here?”