Applications are now open for the Public Sector Education Grants.

The grants which are being offered through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service are open to qualified public sector officers and their children as of July 11. The closing date to apply is August 19.

Speaking with JIS News, Director of Strategic Workforce Planning, Donovan Leon noted that since the introduction of the grants in 2017, many persons have applied for doing their CSEC exams, masters and doctoral studies. “I have seen a lot of persons use the grants to complete professional certifications. The maximum of the grant is… $150,000.00 per person, subject to the availability of funds.” Mr. Leon said.

“Naturally, you can always have unlimited demands but the supply side can somewhat be a challenge. We accommodate as much as possible and ensure that…we are in the best position to satisfy that demand.” Mr. Leon noted.

He explained the types of documents needed to apply for the grants. “You need a job letter, an acceptance letter or transcript if you’re a returning student, you’ll need your tuition letter outlining your school fee. You’ll also need a copy of your TRN, the completed application form and the verification form which must be completed by your respective HRD [human resource department].” Mr. Leon said.

Mr. Leon also added that children of public sector workers are eligible for the grants, but the application must be done by the parent. “For the children of public sector workers, it’s just an additional birth certificate for the child as well as the acceptance letter or transcript that is needed to apply. It’s straightforward in terms of the documents needed. All submissions are done electronically, so once you have the relevant document, you can upload to the designated email, which is [email protected].” Mr. Leon told JIS News.

Individuals can only apply once for a grant. Mr. Leon said the grants are meant to provide a one-time assistance. “In recent times, there was some flexibility that was applied in light of the CoVID-19 period but that is not the norm. It’s really intended to be a one-time benefit but where possible, what I can say is that we try to assist,” he said.

It is approximately eight weeks after the closing period for the funds to be disbursed on behalf of the successful applicant. “Typically, what happens is that once we have received the documents and everything is in order, what we normally do is issue a commitment letter to the school, which allows students to register and access any sort of documentation that they need, prior to the funds reaching their accounts.” Mr. Leon said.

He added that this process may be delayed or fast tracked based on the number of applications received.

Persons can get more information on applying for the grants by visiting the ministry’s website, mof.gov.jm, and navigate to the scholarships page. “You should see a section that has details on which links to navigate to access the respective grant programme that is for the public sector.” Mr. Leon concluded.

Apply Here for Grants for Public Officers: https://forms.gle/EAy2aB2YRrmeUi5p6

Apply Here for the Grants for Children of Public Sector Workers: https://forms.gle/ntMmMfMf6koa1Cn38

In an effort to promote positive behavioural change and management of conflict within schools, 2398 participants across 81 schools were trained in conflict resolution.

The schools include 78 high and 24 primary, and were grouped under phase one of the Restorative Justice Workshops for students, teachers, and parents.

Training was conducted from May 9 to July 1 and was led by the Ministry of Justice and the Safety and Security Branch of the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY).

During the award ceremony held Friday (July 15) at the Jamaica College auditorium in St. Andrew, participants were recognised from across all education regions.

There, Minister of Justice, Hon Delroy Chuck noted the workshop training as vital, because “Jamaica is being torn apart by wrongdoing of all kinds.

“Within the schools, we hope that restorative justice can be taught and practised because we feel that in the schools, youngsters get into disputes and these are natural parts of the ‘growing-up process’. They need the skills to be able to resolve their differences, and avoid the use of violence,” he said.

“While we’re doing this, we hope to engage all the churches across Jamaica to engage in the restorative justice practices, and we have been in touch with the Church of God and also the Seventh-Day Adventist churches to ensure they utilise restorative justice,” he further pointed out.

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon Fayval Williams lauded the programme as one which promotes “positive relationships between peers and between students and teachers as well as pro-social behaviours through the development of social and emotional skills.

“We cannot continue to use violence as the first resort,” she emphasised.

Against this backdrop, Director (Acting) for the Safety and Security Branch in the MOEY, Richard Troupe, said phase two of the programme will begin in the last week of September with 104 schools.

“We’ll begin training and we will do this every term because we’re committed to impacting every single school,” he said.

He encouraged educators and school leaders to use the restorative justice centres as a tool to treat with student conflicts, “because, beyond school suspensions and exclusions, we want to heal our community.”

The Ministry of Justice has established 20 restorative justice centres across the 14 parishes on the island. The centres are available to assist parties to resolve conflicts and the aftermath, in a positive and law-abiding manner.

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, is imploring parents to ensure that their children are engaged in the summer school programme as it will benefit their long-term development.

Speaking with JIS News, she said it is “painful”’ to see parents having children work instead of taking advantage of the programme.

“I know what the child is missing if they give up their education and I’d love to say to our parents who are [allowing] that: ‘it’s a short-term benefit that you enjoy today but think of the long-term for your child and their education’,” she said.

“They will be able to help you so much more if you allow them to get their education. They’ll be able to get a better job to help you, rather than earning the little bit now,” she emphasised.

The national summer school programme, which commenced on July 4, is aimed at addressing loss of learning due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Classes are being held online and face-to-face over four weeks up to July 28.

Minister Williams is reporting that there has been “a steady build” in the number of students accessing lessons since the start on Monday.

“They are utilising the face-to-face facility, and there are students online as well. We’re going to tally up those numbers and get a sense of where we are,” she said.

She noted that prior to the start of the programme, some students were contacted who “needed a bit more learning assistance” and we “hope they will take advantage of this offering that we have for them”.

Minister Williams said that no consideration is being given to extending the programme beyond July. However, she noted that the Ministry will continue to seek out “other types of interventions” to help students recover from learning loss.

More than 700 primary-level teachers who have received electronic vouchers (e-vouchers) under the ‘Laptop for Teachers’ initiative are yet to redeem their vouchers for devices and are being urged by the Ministry of Education and Youth to do so.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said the latest numbers show that 8,852 e-vouchers for laptops have been issued to primary-level teachers across the island, and of that number, only 8,139 have been redeemed.

Speaking with journalists in Clarendon on Sunday (July 3), the Minister said: “We’re almost at the end of this process for the primary schools; the next phase is the high schools.”

She said that although there were concerns about availability of the devices, in the early stages of the project “since then, vendors have brought in more supplies”.

With the e-vouchers, teachers can visit an approved vendor location to purchase a laptop that meets the minimum specifications of project developers, e- Learning Jamaica Limited.

The Minister informed that the vouchers are valued at $90,000, and “based on the specifications as given by e-learning, teachers should be able to find a device for that price”.

She noted, however, that teachers who desire a higher-end device would have to pay an additional amount.

The ‘Laptop for Teachers’ programme involves collaboration with the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA).

Education and Youth Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, is appealing to parents to provide adequate supervision for their children and not to leave them home alone.

In an emotional send-off on Sunday (July 3) for two Clarendon sisters who perished in a fire at their Haylesfield home on March 24, Minister Williams said parents should “ensure that [children] are always in the care of an adult, as you never know what the tragedy will be”.

“Hold your children a little closer,” she said.

A small casket at the Race Course Seventh-day Adventist Church bore the remains of four-year-old Kayla Tomlinson and three-year-old Abigail Tomlinson, who were home alone when the fire started.

In her tribute, the Minister called on the community to support the grieving parents, Micey Walters and Owen Tomlinson, who wept openly and sometimes uncontrollably. She said the deaths had gripped the nation with a deep sense of sorrow.

“Pray with your children,” the Minister urged. “Ask God’s guidance over them because none of us can imagine the pain [of the parents] and none of us would want such a situation to happen to any of us”.

She extended sympathy on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Youth, and the entire education sector, noting that, “all our hearts were broken as we received the tragic news of these deaths”.

Other tributes for the sisters came from Councillor for the Race Course Division, Pauline Reynolds, relatives of the children, and teachers and students at the Race Course Primary and Infant School.

Principal, Monica Smiley, described the grief felt by the school community as “unimaginable”.

Little Kayla was a student at the institution, while Abigail was registered to take up enrolment in September.

“Kayla was a bright girl who participated well in everything. Whenever I go into her class, she’s always ready to high-five. She was a pleasant little girl, and we will miss her dearly,” Mrs. Smiley said.

The funeral was officiated by Pastor Loxley Tulloch and the sisters were laid to rest at the family plot in Haylesfield.

Fifty-one primary and infant schools are to benefit from a donation of 100 water tanks, valued over $9 million.

The 1,000-gallon black tanks, along with fittings, were provided by the United States (US) Southern Humanitarian Command Program (USSHCP), through the National Education Trust (NET).

The USSHCP’s donation is in support of the Ministry of Education and Youth’s efforts to ensure the safe operation of in-person school in light of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Speaking at the handover ceremony on Tuesday (June 28) at Jamaica College in St. Andrew, Portfolio Minister, Fayval Williams, expressed gratitude for the contribution, noting that “it will assist the Ministry to improve the general teaching and learning environment of the selected schools.”

“It will also support the Ministry’s campaign for safe operation of schools, during the face-face delivery of the curriculum,” she pointed out.

The Minister noted that the donation of the tanks also “serves to underscore the importance of the bilateral and multilateral cooperation that we have enjoyed with the United States Government and its agencies, for many decades.”

For his part, United States Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Nick Perry, said “keeping schools open, and ensuring that students have everything that they need to learn in a safe and healthy environment is critical.”

“Washing and hygiene in our schools have never been more urgent,” he stressed, adding that supporting the education and safety of children is an important mission of the USSHCP.

The governance of public educational institutions is expected to be vastly improved with the launch of the online School Board Platform.

The portal, which can be found on the National Council on Education’s (NCE) website at https://www.nce.org.jm/, was officially launched by Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, during the final sitting of the current NCE, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, on Wednesday (June 29).

Mrs. Williams noted that the platform’s establishment forms part of a comprehensive strategy to transform the governance of Jamaica’s public educational institutions.

She said it aims to provide support for school Boards to conduct their important functions in a more timely and efficient manner, recognising that “effective Boards lead effective schools and create rewarding experiences for our students.”

“It is also about empowering the Boards through the infusion of technology and innovative practices that can assist them in adding value to the schools placed in their charge,” the Minister said.

Mrs. Williams noted that the work of school Boards is “extremely complex” and cited the need for ready and available support to equip them with information and resources to resolve issues promptly.

“The Ministry of Education and Youth recognises the important role Boards play in supporting the effective functioning of schools. It also recognises that governance is an important resource [to] support the transformation of our education system. It is within this context that the School Board Platform has been developed,” she said.

Mrs. Williams, in highlighting the platform’s features, said it will enable schools to upload their minutes, indicate major issues and highlight other areas of concern.

“What that will do is provide, in one place, all the minutes from across the education system and that should give us the ability to interrogate, compare, and see the issues that our Boards are dealing with across the education sector,” she pointed out.

Mrs. Williams noted that the Ministry will be able to proactively deal with matters of concern highlighted in the minutes which, previously, would be submitted manually and not always in a timely manner.

“The platform is a vehicle for providing vital information for supporting school Boards. It will also aid in resolving governance issues and support the Ministry and the NCE in adopting a more targetted approach in assisting the Boards of Management. So, it is a very important first step for our Boards,” she added.

The portal was launched under the theme: ‘Leading Effective Schools – Creating Rewarding Experiences for Students’.

Mrs. Williams thanked Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe, and her staff for spearheading the platform’s development in collaboration with the NCE.

The Minister also expressed her gratitude to the Council members who will be demitting office on June 30, 2022, for the high level of commitment and dedication to their work.

“I also wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to our school Board chairmen and members for their tireless efforts and the value they continue to add to our schools,” she said.

The NCE is a statutory body within the Ministry of Education and Youth. Its establishment was born out of the need to have a non-partisan, national and strategically placed organisation to address a wide range of issues impacting the education process.

The aim of the NCE is to ensure continuity in policy development, even when there are changes of government or administration, as well as facilitate greater community involvement in the management of educational institutions.

The Ministry of Education and Youth’s National Summer School will get under way on July 4.

The four-week programme, which ends on July 28, is free of cost to students.

National Literacy Coordinator, Dr. Andre Hill, said the summer school is one of several initiatives being used by the Ministry to address gaps in learning caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Students from across all grades at the primary and secondary levels who wish to attend will be accommodated.

The lessons will be delivered using two modalities – online and face-to-face, and Dr. Hill said that teachers/administrators are required to use the performance data to recommend students for either modality.

For the online sessions, students will have on-demand access to the platform and content for the entire summer period.

Discussions and plans for the logistics for face-to-face instruction will take place at the regional and school levels. Online service providers who have been approved for the delivery of the summer school programme are Learning Hub Online, EduFocal Limited and One-on-One Educational Services Limited.

For further information or queries, persons can contact the regional literacy coordinators.

The National Summer School is part of the National School Learning and Intervention Plan (NSLIP), aimed at helping students to recover from learning loss due to COVID-19.

One hundred and fifty guidance counsellors from various primary and secondary schools in Region 1 (Kingston & St. Andrew) are being trained in underage gambling prevention.

The training is being conducted over three days between June 27 and July 1, using a lesson plan created by RISE Life Management Services in collaboration with the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), started on Monday.

It is being held at the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Caenwood Centre in Kingston.

Speaking during Day 2 of the training workshop on Wednesday (June 29), Director, Licensing and Registration at BGLC, Maurice Thompson, said that parents, teachers and counsellors share the responsibility of protecting the nation’s children from engaging in gambling before they become adults.

“We must educate them about the risks and harms they face by participating in gambling too early, if at all. We must ensure that we can provide the support for them if they do fall victim to the harms that, no doubt, children will suffer when they participate in gambling,” said Mr. Thompson.

He further commended the Ministry of Education and Youth for being partners on the initiative and for recognising the importance of ensuring that the counsellors are equipped with the knowledge and tools to address the issue of underage gambling in the school environment.

Mr. Thompson pointed out that under the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act, minors are not permitted to participate in gambling activities, and anyone who is found guilty of allowing such action could be fined a maximum of $1 million.

Meanwhile, Programme Manager for Responsible Gaming Counselling and Support Services, RISE Life Management Services, Richard Henry, told JIS News that “it is not business as usual when it comes on to our youngsters and underage gambling”.

He noted that in an intensified gaming environment, where children are exposed to gambling through advertising and other elements, they need to have the necessary skills to interpret what is seen in the media.

“If they interpret it wrong, it could glamourise gambling, encourage them to want to do gambling and for some of them, thinking that this is way for them to survive when they get older as opposed to setting goals, focusing on education and having a good job.” said Mr. Henry.

For her part, Senior Education Officer, Guidance Counselling Unit, Region 1, Ministry of Education and Youth, Tamika McCreath, told JIS News that at the end of the training, the guidance counsellors will leave with a six-week Lesson Plan for Underage Gambling Prevention to be implemented in the various schools.

She commended the partnership in the staging of the training programme, noting that it will “build our guidance counsellors’ capacity in getting that message out to the younger set of students, so that the early onset of gambling is reduced”.

The underage gambling prevention education training is made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Education and Youth and RISE Life Management Services.

Chairman of the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC), Professor Orlando Patterson engages with students of the Calabar High School in St. Andrew during a visit to the institution.