JIS: The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation is calling for schools to participate in its Youth Environment Advocacy Programme (YEAP), which seeks to empower students to respond to environmental concerns.

 

Senior Director in the Environment and Risk Management Division of the Ministry, Gillian Guthrie, said YEAP, launched in July 2016, aims to engage students in environmental advocacy as well as to help them identify innovative solutions to various challenges.

 

“All the Government agencies produce policies, legislation and environmental programmes. We want the youth to be able to speak to these… we want to hear the voice of the youth. We want to know what they are interested in, what their issues are and also to encourage them to find innovative solutions to national environmental issues,” she explained.

 

Since the start of the programme, the Ministry has hosted regional sessions at St. Hugh’s and Holy Childhood High in Kingston; The Manning’s School, Westmorland; and Mount Alvernia High, St. James.

 

Schools within the vicinity of the host institutions were invited to participate. Themes covered included climate change and waste management.

 

The quarterly sessions will be taken to Portland in September, where discussions will focus on the theme: ‘Disaster Risk Reduction’.

 

“This theme is very apt given climate change and weather events being experienced in Jamaica. I think the youth will have a lot to say on what the challenges are and how the country and they, the youth, can assist in addressing these challenges,” Ms. Guthrie told JIS News.

 

She is urging private sector support for the programme, which targets young people ages 11 to 19.

 

“We are asking the private sector to partner with us in sponsorship of the regional sessions as well as to participate and have dialogue with the youth on national environmental issues,” she said.

 

Public sector partners on YEAP include the Forestry Department, National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Ministry of Health and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NWSMA).

 

Non-governmental organisations such as the University of the West Indies (UWI) Department of Life Sciences and the Recycling Partners of Jamaica have also collaborated on the programme.

 

During the regional sessions, technical officers from relevant agencies engage students in discussion on a particular theme, following which the students are placed in groups for further analysis. They are required to make a presentation detailing their thoughts on the issue and how they can contribute to the solution.

 

Ms. Guthrie said feedback from students about the sessions has been positive, as they have expressed excitement about the programme and a desire to see it expanded to include communication in-between the meetings.

 

In addition to sustained social media engagement with the students on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, YEAP has also led to clean-up campaigns and recycling programmes being implemented at the schools.

 

The institutions are encouraged to establish environmental clubs or strengthen existing groups to further disseminate the messages of the programme.

 

“This is a programme to build the capacity of the youth. We are looking to the youth being able to take ownership and leadership of the YEAP once their capacity gets to a certain level,” Ms. Guthrie pointed out.

 

She is encouraging principals, teachers and students to contact the Ministry’s website at www.mwh.gov.jm.

 

CAPTION: Students participate in a Youth Environmental Advocacy Programme (YEAP) regional session at the Mount Alvernia High School in St. James recently.

THE GLEANER: Minister of Education Ruel Reid has called for a deeper infusion of the right values and attitudes into education if the country is to effectively reduce violence.

 

Speaking at the graduation ceremony for Guys Hill High School in St Catherine at the Guys Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church last week, Reid said that education without values is meaningless.

 

“If you’re not careful, even those who have benefited from education could fall prey (to criminality),” he said.

 

“I’m saying all of this because there is a need for good values – values of honesty, values of respect, values of excellence, value of life,” said the education minister.

 

His comments came as the country fights an upsurge in murders, especially in western Jamaica.

 

Reid said that if wholesome “values and attitudes” are not made to complement efforts to transform the education system, then schools will churn out undisciplined students.

 

“What, then, would be the value and purpose of education?” he asked.

 

He urged graduates to become change agents and to make a difference by exerting positive influences over their peers.

 

Carlene Edwards, sponsorship and events manager at JN Bank, reminded the graduates that the difference they will make in their spheres will be based on the nurturing and caring they received while at Guys Hill High School.

 

Edwards, a former prefect and student council president at the school, urged graduates to be confident, bold and different as they make their journey towards higher education and into the world of work.

 

“Believe me when I say the seeds of confidence sown here will make you stand out from others. It will make you certain of who are and what you can accomplish,” the Guy’s Hill alumnus told graduates.

 

TWICE DEFEATED

“As our first national hero, Marcus Garvey, said, without confidence you are twice defeated in this race we call life. Therefore, to make a difference, young men and young ladies of Guys Hill, you will have to be bold; and to be bold you will have to be confident in who you are and what you can accomplish,” Edwards said.

 

Principal Joan Davis highlighted that the rural school, which caters to some 1,200 students from the parishes of St Mary, St Catherine and St Ann, achieved 100 per cent passes in various subjects in the 2016 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

 

Davis noted that the school has been encouraging students to sit some CSEC subjects from as early as third form. One of two students who sat exams last year passed three subjects, earning two distinctions and a credit.

 

At the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) level, the school has also been performing well. She said 100 per cent of the cohort passed communication studies, Caribbean studies, entrepreneurship, environmental studies, management of business, physical education and sports, sociology and tourism. The average pass for all CAPE examinations was 84 per cent.

 

“We are very proud of our achievement,” Mrs Davis declared. “Our vision is for our students to become critical thinkers and problem-solvers, who will be able to make meaningful contributions to Jamaica and beyond in this ever-changing world,” she concluded.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Honourable Ruel Reid

JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, is urging parents to support schools by becoming actively involved in Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs).

 

Mr. Green, who was speaking at the Pembroke Hall Primary School Excellence Awards ceremony on June 29 at the school, in Kingston, said that parents play an integral role in the development and success of the child, and implored them to work with teachers to instil discipline and respect in children.

 

He reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to improve the primary school sector, noting that the Ministry recognises the importance that early childhood institutions play in the foundation of a child’s education.

 

“If we get it right from early, then we won’t need to spend so much money when they get to high school trying to play catch-up. If they are learning properly from the basic and primary school level, then it will be easier,” he argued.

 

One major step being taken by the Government to improve the sector is the $1 billion budget allocation to these institutions for the 2017/18 academic year.

 

This is in line with the Ministry’s commitment to provide greater support to schools to improve the quality of education in Jamaica.

 

A bulletin issued by the Ministry states that all schools at the infant and primary levels will receive $2,500 per student, up from an average of $850.

 

All-age and junior high schools will get $19,000 per student, up from $1,100.

 

Schools will also continue to receive a maintenance grant of $50,000 and janitorial grant of $172,000 per school.

 

The money will be disbursed in four tranches beginning this month (June).

 

The second and third tranches will be given in September and December, respectively, and the final tranche will be handed over in April 2018.

 

Trophies and pins were presented to students of grades one to five in several categories – top student in class, high achievers, attendance and most improved.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (left), addresses parents and students at Pembroke Hall Primary School’s awards ceremony, held on June 29 at the school.

JIS: With a student population of between 10,000 and 12,000 in any given year, Jamaica’s community colleges have become a game changer in tertiary landscape.

 

In 1974, they were established to accommodate students pursuing sixth form studies.

 

Forty-three years later, the system has transformed into one of the most affordable, flexible and accessible means to tertiary education, offering to Jamaicans a variety of programmes ranging from continuing education, short courses, postgraduate diplomas, Associate and Bachelor’s degree.

 

Executive Director of the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ), Dr. Donna Powell Wilson, tells JIS News that the programmes offered by the community colleges are some of the most affordable in the country. “We are not cheap but very affordable.

 

The cost to pursue a two-year Associate Degree is close to what a student will pay for one year of studies at a local university,” she says. She points out that community colleges have forged partnerships with local, regional and international institutions, to offer programmes to meet the educational needs of Jamaicans.

 

Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) have been established with institutions such as Jamaica Theological Seminary, University of Technology, University of the West Indies and Monroe College in the United States.

 

Dr. Powell Wilson says that under the MOU with Monroe College, credits can be transferred to pursue a Bachelor’s degree, which means community colleges graduates will not have to redo the programmes, when they enrol in these institutions.

 

“We form associations with other institutions, so that our students are not at a disadvantage if they want to further their studies,” she says.

 

The local community colleges have also extended their offerings through franchising regionally to Anguilla, the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas Baptist Community College.

 

Dr. Powell Wilson points out that in response to the emerging needs of the local economy, the CCCJ has just completed the development of a logistics supply chain management programme in collaboration with the Niagara College and the Marine University of Newfoundland, Canada.

 

This, she says, is sponsored by the CARICOM Education for Employment Programme.

 

She adds that the CCCJ is working on developing a partnership with Hocking College in the United States so as to offer different types of programmes to students.

 

Meanwhile, Principal of Knox Community College and President of the Association of Principals and Vice Principals of Community Colleges, Dr. Gordon Cowans, says that one of the challenges is informing persons that tertiary education is accessible to every Jamaican.

 

“Tertiary education is in the reach of all Jamaicans irrespective of your age or academic performance. We have coverage for the island, we have programmes to meet each and every Jamaican who want to better their professional or academic experience. The CCCJ is responding to today’s challenges creating tomorrow’s opportunities,” he says.

 

Meanwhile, Principal of Excelsior Community College in Kingston and Chair of the Curriculum Development Committee in the CCCJ, Philmore McCarthy, tells JIS News that in an effort to strategically coordinate the work of the community colleges, the CCCJ was established in 2001 through an Act in Parliament.

 

Mr. McCarthy says that the main functions of the Council are to draft regulations to govern operations; standardise the offerings; and ensure that the community colleges maintain quality standards.

 

“They also work with the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) and use their standards to develop programme, hence majority of our programmes are accredited,” he points out.

 

The CCCJ members are made up of representatives from community colleges, other local tertiary institutions, the private sector and HEART Trust/NTA.

 

The community college system boasts a two plus two model and according to Mr. McCarthy, under this model, a student has the opportunity for the first two years to pursue an Associate Degree and the other two years to gain a Bachelor’s Degree.

 

“We are geared towards preparing our students for the workplace and for industries, as well as persons who want to go on to further studies. You find that a person will come in and do two years, go back to work and then they would come back to complete another two years for their Bachelor’s Degree,” he explains . Students have access to programmes in areas such as engineering, technology, business, hospitality and tourism management, agriculture, education (trainers of primary school teachers), humanities – criminal justice, social work, logistics, business process outsourcing and management.

 

To pursue an Associate Degree, individuals are required to have five Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, inclusive of Mathematics and English or its equivalent. For a Bachelor’s Degree, an Associate Degree from an accredited programme is required.

 

There are eight community colleges in Jamaica in 25 different locations across the island. They are the Bethlehem Moravian College, Moneague College, the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), Excelsior Community College, Montego Bay Community College, Brown’s Town Community College, Portmore Community College and Knox Community College.

 

CAPTION: Executive Director of the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica, Dr. Donna Powell Wilson (centre), addresses Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ recently. Observing from left are: Principal of Excelsior Community College in Kingston and Chair of the Curriculum Development Committee in the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ), Philmore McCarthy, and Principal of Knox Community College and President of the Association of Principals and Vice Principals of Community Colleges, Dr. Gordon Cowans.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has disbursed subventions totalling over $1.4 billion to secondary schools for the 2017/ 2018 academic year.

 

This was announced by Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, at a post- Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on June 28.

 

The Minister pointed out that this is the first of four tranches to be paid for the period.

 

“All schools that are due for funding from the Government by virtue of schedule, all those payments have been made – from early childhood to high school. All Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) payments, feeding payments and other grants have been made,” he said.

 

The Minister further informed that the budget has been increased to $200 million, up from $75 million, to procure 35,000 pieces of furniture for teachers and students for the new school year.

 

“We are way advanced and we expect to commence distribution of those furniture before July 31,” he said. 

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator, the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), engages first-form students of Campion College . (File Photo)

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information recently signed an agreement with Microsoft to provide administrative staff, teachers and students free access to Microsoft Office 365 tools, such as OneNote, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, across PCs, tablets and smartphones.

 

Education Minister Senator Ruel Reid during the signing said that the agreement with Microsoft is “a step forward in realising our mission of having a nation empowered by a dynamic system of care, education and training.”

 

“Now, more than ever, there’s an immediate need to accelerate the transformation of our education system, so we have students equipped with the knowledge needed to be productive members of our country in the 21st century, and teachers and staff that feel empowered with appropriate tools to transform the teaching-learning process,” Reid stated.

 

 

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI), in partnership with the National Education Trust (NET) and the University of Technology (UTech), is presently conducting inspections of infant, primary and secondary schools.

 

Some 971 schools are scheduled to be inspected under the Jamaica Safe Schools Project (JSSP), which is being managed by the World Bank to support the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) in mainstreaming disaster risk management in the regulation, planning, designing, construction and management of school infrastructure.

 

In a bulletin issued by the ministry, it was noted that the data-collection process from the inspections will be led by staff and students from UTech, who will function as supervisors and collectors, respectively.

 

The pilot phase of the project will be executed over the period June 26-29, with 45 schools in Kingston and five in St Andrew to be inspected.

 

The project began today with a team of at least two students from UTech going on site at selected schools to conduct the inspections.

 

This survey will comprise a site inspection of the compound, drawings and measurement of all buildings and an interview with the principal, or a senior member of staff.

 

The inspectors will need to access the buildings and the general compound to complete the inspections.

JIS: Students from 19 non-traditional high schools across the island have been honoured by the National Child Month Committee (NCMC) for outstanding performance and community service,  through its Academic Awards Programme.

 

Now in its fourth year, the Programme recognizes the accomplishments of young persons from non-traditional high schools in each parish, who have achieved academic excellence at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level and who demonstrate a spirit of volunteerism.

 

The award ceremony was held on June 23 at the Knutsford Court Hotel, in New  Kingston.

 

Recipients received a cash prize of $10,000, gift baskets, book vouchers and a plaque.

 

Speaking on behalf of State Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, Chief Executive Officer for the Child Development Agency (CDA), Rosalee Gage-Grey, congratulated the recipients and encouraged them to continue to pursue excellence.

 

“I have met some of the brightest and most outstanding students in our country, who are also positive role models in their communities and show characteristics that indicate they will grow up to make a positive contribution to society,” she said.

 

Chairperson of the NCMC, Dr. Pauline Mullings, who has served in the education sector for over 38 years, said rewarding children for academic achievement is good motivation for them to continue their pursuit of excellence in all aspects of life.

 

“When children are rewarded for their effort in school, it is a great motivation to get more reward. We see the pleasure on the faces of the children, parents and teachers and we are happy to do that for them,” she said.

 

Noting that many of these children excel despite significant financial and personal challenges, Dr. Mullings said the Programme aims to reward their perseverance and encourage them to continue their pursuit of excellence.

 

“This is important because many of the children from the non-traditional high schools are not really recognized for their efforts and hard work. We felt that this is something we want to do to motivate these children. Our main objective is to make these persons feel special and good about themselves, and that someone has taken the time to recognize the effort that they have made,” she said.

 

Sixth form student of Denbigh High School, in Clarendon, Jodian Clarke, who copped the award for ‘Top Student’, expressed her appreciation for the initiative.

 

“This award means a lot as we are given recognition for all the hard work and sacrifices made to pass our exams, despite the challenges we face. These awards will be a constant reminder to us to remain focused, determined and goal oriented as we move on to future endeavours,” she said.

 

CAPTION: Members of the National Child Month Committee (in background), with 19 recipients of awards at the handing over ceremony on June 23 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston. The students from non-traditional high schools across the island achieved academic excellence at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level and demonstrated a spirit of volunteerism. 

GLEANER: How prepared is a new principal for the job of school leadership? How effective can he or she be, moving from classroom teaching to supervising colleagues, to handling the demands of administrative duties? Effective leadership is among the most critical factors in the success of any school. However, perhaps more important is how school leaders are prepared before taking on the challenging demands of their roles.

 

Jamaica’s education system has been responding to these concerns through a strategic and transformative review of the education sector, culminating in the Task Force Report of 2004. One critical need identified was a demand on principals to increase the effectiveness of their schools through improved management, efficient use of resources, and better relationships with the community being served.

 

These competencies can hardly be achieved through graduate qualifying programmes but more so through targeted training and preparation.

 

The Aspiring Principals’ Programme (APP) was designed to prepare individuals for the task of the principalship before their being in the post. This initiative was developed from the background that despite studies on the critical role of school leadership and student success, Jamaica continues to promote to individuals to the post of principals who are good classroom teachers without first providing them with the requisite preparation. The APP now serves as an opportunity to attract talent, identify high-quality applicants, and ensure a ready supply of well-trained applicants.

 

 

 

MAJOR EXPENDITURES

 

 

According to Dr Taneisha Ingleton, acting principal director of the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL), effective leadership at any level requires major expenditures of effort and energy. “The competencies required are observable and demonstrable and can be taught, nurtured, or enhanced, and the Aspiring Principals’ Programme, jointly developed by the National College for Educational Leadership and the School of Education, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, is intended to do just that,” she says.

 

Training, she indicates, must be targeted deliberate and at specific contexts and situations. It must never be assumed that past experiences or qualification levels are equivalent to effective leadership behaviours.

 

Leadership development for our school and system leaders must be something that is guarded jealously and should happen before accessing the post. “Investment in training and development will create a competitive advantage for any education system,” she added.

 

For his part, Dr Disraeli Hutton, programme coordinator and lecturer in the School of Education, UWI, Mona, noted: “Improvement in the performance of schools will rest significantly on the quality of leadership provided by principals. It is based on this knowledge that the Aspiring Principals’ Programme was developed by NCEL in collaboration with the Mona School of Business and Management and the School of Education,” he said.

 

With the APP in place, it is envisioned that all new principals who assume the role of principalship in the Jamaican school system will be provided with the competencies to make a difference in school performance. The School of Education, Dr Hutton says, is committed to this goal and will continue to work with the critical stakeholders to provide the highest level of training for both incumbent and aspiring principals.

 

The National College for Educational Leadership has been consistent in its mandate to provide quality leadership development interventions for its stakeholders. The Aspiring Principals’ Programme was developed in 2013 and was informed by the major findings from the Ministry of Education reports, including priorities outlined in policy documents related to Education Transformation; the National Education Inspectorate reviews of eight key areas of school effectiveness; and the Jamaica Teaching Council Professional Standards for Educators. The programme addresses complex organisational theories and the practical nature of the principalship.

 

Ingleton outlined that the programme emphasises what constitutes school leadership capability for the Jamaican school context. She notes, “With every mistake made by leadership, a child is disadvantaged, and that is why rigorous preparation before assumption of duties must be better than any effort of remediation.”

 

The programme is accessed in face-to-face settings and engages participants around four critical modules, namely Transformational Leadership, Instructional Leadership, Community Leadership and Organisational Leadership. A Field Experience component is embedded in which participants solve organisational issues with the aim of heightening student learning. To date, NCEL has trained over 400 aspiring principals in its programme and will, this year, matriculate another 83 aspirants, who will be poised to lead schools more effectively in Jamaica.

 

– Article courtesy of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information

 

CAPTION: 

Dr Taneisha Ingleton