Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, has underscored the importance of private sector and community partnerships in driving the education sector forward.

The newly minted Minister toured four schools in St. Thomas on Thursday (November 14), where she observed significant private sector donations at two of the institutions.

“I went to probably the best early childhood institution I have ever been in at the Jamaica-China Goodwill Infant School. That was fantastic, and I saw a sensory room for children who need to be in that environment – children with special needs – and that was donated by the Digicel Foundation,” Senator Morris Dixon said.

She also highlighted a smart lab at Morant Bay Primary School in the parish capital, which was another donation from the Digicel Foundation.

“What it says is that Government alone can’t do everything. We have to have support, we have to have private sector support, we have to have the community supporting us, and I saw that in St. Thomas,” the Minister said.

Dr. Morris Dixon noted that the parish is the first stop of her islandwide tour, “to better understand what is happening in our schools.”

In addition to Jamaica China Goodwill Infant and Morant Bay Primary, she visited Paul Bogle High and Morant Bay High.

Among her observations, the Minister lauded the presence of smart boards in some classrooms and the improvements in computer labs as well as the intervention in literacy, which was noted at Morant Bay Primary.

“That’s something that I am very much big on, because we need to correct the problems earlier,” she said.

Senator Morris Dixon used the opportunity to commend school leaders for excelling, despite certain limitations.

“One of the things I can say from the tour of the four schools I did… in St. Thomas, is that we have really great leaders in our schools who are doing extraordinary work. Many of the times resources are not there, but they are doing a fantastic job,” the Minister said.

“I saw teachers who were so committed to their students. You could see how alive they were when they were talking about the programmes they were doing for their children, and that’s what we want; and what I want to say to Jamaica, is that we have committed teachers in Jamaica,” she added.

Senator Morris Dixon emphasised that the Education Ministry, “has to work as hard as we can to support our teachers, because what they do is not easy at all.”