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After nearly five decades in the classroom shaping young minds, Dr Owen Scott is urging a radical transformation in how Jamaican students are assessed.

The seasoned educator, who has taught across all tiers of the education system, believes the nation's heavy reliance on examinations -- especially at the primary level -- is doing more harm than good.

"I think we should remove the concept of examination altogether," Scott told THE STAR.

"Assess the child based on every subject at the end of grade six and then place them. It might be tough for some parents to accept, but it would help far more students in the long run," he said.

The 67-year-old was recently recognised for his nearly half-century of service with a prestigious Golden Torch award from the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) at a ceremony held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Friday.

Now a lecturer at Northern Caribbean University, Scott is also calling for a shift in how subjects are valued in the school system. He believes all disciplines should carry equal weight and be delivered in ways that connect with students' interests and abilities.

"What we need to do is to see every subject as important. Every child wants to learn, we just need to find where their strengths lie," he said.

"Some students will learn through the arts, not necessarily through reading and maths and English language," he added.

"When they dance, when they paint, when they do drama, when they bake a cake, that's where the literacy is going to come."

Scott argues that by allowing children to pursue the areas they love -- whether it's the arts, sciences, or practical skills -- they will become more willing and motivated to engage with other academic areas.

"The thing is if a child sees that 'I need to do this maths in order to keep doing my baking or my art,' guess what? They'll learn the maths," he argued. "But we keep drilling so much for exams that the real strength of some children gets left by the way."