JIS: The Heart Foundation of Jamaica is encouraging members of the public to get screened for Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), as this life-threatening condition affects both young and older persons.

 

The appeal was made by Executive Director of the Foundation, Deborah Chen, at the media launch for Heart Month on January 24 at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston.

 

SCA is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. As a result, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs, usually resulting in death if it is not treated immediately.

 

Symptoms of SCA include chest pain, racing heart, unexplained fainting, shortness of breath, unusual fatigue, dizziness and seizures.

 

The Executive Director told JIS News that the decision to focus on this medical condition stems from the increase in reported cases of SCA.

 

She is urging members of the public, particularly persons involved in vigorous physical activity, to get screened to determine if they are at risk for SCA.

 

Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has commended the Foundation for its awareness initiative.

 

“We congratulate the Heart Foundation of Jamaica on using this forum for highlighting some of the risk factors, symptoms, strategies and lifestyle practices for prevention of SCA,” the Minister said in a message read by Acting Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry, Dr. Beverley Wright.

 

The Minister noted that cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in Jamaica. It is estimated that approximately 25 per cent of the population have risk factors associated with heart disease.

 

Under the theme, ‘Sudden Cardiac Death…Could it Happen to You?’ the Foundation will be hosting a series of activities throughout the Month to raise public awareness of the causes, symptoms and measures that can be taken to prevent and treat an episode of SCA.

 

Screenings for cardiovascular conditions are to be held at several Health Centres across the island. The month will also feature outside broadcasts and medical symposiums. The Foundation will also be hosting a CPR Training Day on February 25 to educate persons in basic medical treatment in case of an emergency.

 

For more information, persons can contact the Heart Foundation of Jamaica at: (876) 906-9407, (876) 926-4378 or email: [email protected].

 

CAPTION: Heart Foundation Board member, Maurice Anderson (left); Executive Director of the Foundation, Deborah Chen (second left); Consultant Cardiologist and Chair of the Foundation, Dr. Andrene Chung (third left) and Sports Medicine Specialist, Dr. Paul Wright (right), in conversation with Acting Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Beverley Wright (second right), during the media launch for Heart Month (February) on January 24 at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston.

JIS: The Government provides public access to education for approximately 763,798 students or 71 per cent of the school age cohort (3-24).

 

Of this total, 613,136 students are enrolled across 3,000 pre-primary, 995 primary and preparatory schools and 180 high schools, both public and private.

 

This was disclosed by Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, while addressing an Education World Forum in London, United Kingdom (UK), today (January 24).

 

He pointed out that the enrolment rates at the primary and secondary levels are impressive, with 99.8 for the pre-primary and 99.4 per cent at the primary levels, respectively, and 97.3 per cent at the secondary level.

 

There are over 150 vocational training centres and other private training institutions.

 

The Minister also informed that there are 17 tertiary institutions with an enrolment of close to 28,000 students and four established universities with approximately 75,000 students, with a gross enrolment rate of 28.9 per cent, adding that Jamaicans are also enrolled in several offshore universities.

 

Senator Reid said the Government of Jamaica is committed to the continued reformation and transformation of Jamaica’s education system.

 

“Jamaica’s education system has gone through a series of reforms over many years. These reforms have been primarily aimed at creating greater access to an education system characterised by quality, inclusiveness and equity, which are relevant for the real world context,” the Minister said.

 

He added that as part of the education transformation programme, the fundamentals and practice of teaching and learning have centred on developing curricula that equip students to respond and adapt to a rapidly changing world.

 

“The Jamaican system of education continues to do relatively well where access to early childhood, primary and lower level secondary education, attendance rates and youth and adult literacy rates is concerned,” the Minister noted.

 

Senator Reid said that Jamaica is committed to have in place a world-class education and training system that produces well-rounded and qualified individuals who will be able to function as creative and productive individuals in all spheres, both locally globally.

 

The forum is being held from January 22-25 under the theme: ‘Employment, Enterprise and Education – Meeting the Needs of All’.

 

Over 300 Ministers of Education and advisers representing over 80 per cent of the world’s population have gathered to debate future education policy.

 

CAPTION: In this file photo, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (right), adjusts the collar of a student at Spanish Town High School, during a tour of the institution.

JIS: The second in the series of capacity-building courses under the Upskilling and Retooling Jamaica Initiative, gets under way on Monday (January 23) at HEART Trust/NTA locations and other tertiary institutions across the island.

 

The programme, which focuses on technical skills and leadership training, involves collaboration between the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE) and the HEART Trust/NTA.

 

Among the areas covered are food preparation, floral arrangement, vehicle maintenance, business planning, effective communication, executive strategy management, and transformational leadership.

 

The three-year programme, which was officially launched in November 2016, aims to train a minimum of 3,000 persons annually, in order to improve employee readiness, retention and productivity in particular impact sectors targeted by the Government for growth and expansion.

 

Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean, said the objective is to equip all Jamaicans with professional certification while facilitating continuous capacity-building.

 

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Consultancy and Institutional Capacity Building Department Manager, Nicole Berry Stanford, told JIS News that 2,488 individuals participated in training within the first two months of the programme.

 

She is anticipating an overwhelming response to this second batch of training sessions.

 

The programme is managed through the Leadership Academy by the JCTE and the Professional Skills Academy by the HEART Trust/NTA. Professional development certification is issued to participants upon successful completion of the training.

 

Jamaicans 16-99 years are invited to register for the free professional skills courses.  No prior qualifications are needed.  For further information persons may call 929-7299, 395-1522, 598-2049 or send an email to [email protected]

 

The Upskilling and Retooling Jamaica Initiative is part of the Government of Jamaica’s strategic priority for Human Capital Development.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (centre), looks at a document at the launch of the three-year upskilling and retooling project at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on November 18, 2016. He is flanked by Executive Director of HEART Trust/NTA, Dr. Wayne Wesley (left); and the entity’s Chairman, Maxine Wilson,.

The Ministry of Youth has appointed Micheal McAnuff-Jones to chair a committee that will oversee the merger of the Child Development Agency (CDA) and the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR).

 

The committee will serve until July 31 and will consist of members from the CDA and OCR and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information.

 

Other persons from the child care sector and organisational specialists will also be on the committee.

 

The appointment of a chairman follows recent reports that the CDA and OCR inadequately addressed a reported case of sex abuse of a six-year-old child.

 

Minister of State in the ministry, Floyd Green, requested an investigation into the matter, stating that the action of the two state agencies was unacceptable.

 

Green then promised to name a chairman of a committee that would fast-track the work to merge the CDA and OCR to make them more efficient. 

 

The merger was first announced last year.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will be hosting a Special-Education Regional Round Table from January 24-26 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

 

The conference will be held under the theme ‘Preparing Productive Citizens for an Inclusive Society: The Benefits of the Collaborative Process’.

 

It will target educational leaders and policymakers throughout the region, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

 

Special-Education Coordinator for the event, Dr. Michele Meredith, said that the forum will bring policymakers, advocates and other stakeholders together to discuss the systemic, attitudinal and sociocultural issues that affect the sustained progress of efforts in special education.

 

“Discussions will be geared around the issue of whether Caribbean children and youth are sufficiently prepared for life beyond school,” she said.

 

Also to be explored is “the key collaborative relationships for the appropriate preparation of children and youth with special needs for life beyond school”, she added.

 

Topics for discussion are Legislation and governance: policy reform for access, equity and inclusion; Models of multidisciplinary support: advancing progress through the machinery of collaboration; Satisfying the development continuum: Early-childhood through post-secondary considerations; and Social public responsibility: ensuring focused giving for personal empowerment and sustained economic development.

 

Keynote speaker will be President and Chief Executive Officer of Miske Witt and Associates in the United States of America, Dr. Shirley Miske, who is an internationally renowned expert in inclusive education, educational quality, teacher professional development, and gender equality.

 

Other presenters include Professor of Child Health, Child Development and Behaviour, Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan; Consultant Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist at the Child Guidance Clinic, Dr. Ganesh Shetty; Executive Director of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, Dr. Iris Soutar; Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Foundation, Dane Richardson; and Director of Education Programmes of the Jamaica National iLead Project, Dr. Renée Rattray.

 

Dr. Meredith said the conference will mark the end of activities of the Special Education Project under the Education System Transformation Programme.

 

CAPTION: The Ministry of Education’s main office, 2 National Heroes Circle

JIS: The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) is reporting that it received $20 million in 2016 to help with efforts to develop early-childhood institutions (ECIs) that are in need.

 

This amount was donated by stakeholders and partners, such as the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund, the New York-based Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations; West Portland Member of Parliament, Hon. Daryl Vaz; the Project for the Advancement of Childhood Education (PACE) Canada, and Carlong Publishers.

 

Acting Director of Regulation and Monitoring at the ECC, Norda Seymour-Hall, told JIS News that responses from partners and stakeholders have been significant.

 

“We are very grateful for the level of support we have received, so far, from partner organisations and individuals with an interest in the growth and development of our young children,” she said.

 

Mrs. Seymour-Hall noted that, to date, 19 early-childhood institutions have been certified by meeting the required legal standards, and that the ECC has set a target for 100 to be certified by August 2017.

 

Under the law, all ECIs must be registered with the ECC to operate in Jamaica. The Early Childhood Act – Regulations (2005) outlines the requirements for setting up an early-childhood institution.

 

According to Mrs. Seymour-Hall, other organisations, such as the Jamaica Public Service Foundation, Sandals Foundation, Rockhouse Foundation, National Baking Company Foundation, One Jamaica Foundation, Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), Food For The Poor, Helping Hands, United Way of Jamaica, and Breds Treasure Beach Foundation, are currently working to build early-childhood institutions and/or provide educational support.

 

She said the ECC acknowledges everyone who has made individual contributions in cash or kind and is encouraging others to come on board to support the ECC’s efforts to develop other ECIs that are in need.

 

For further information, persons may visit the ECC’s website at: www.ecc.gov.jm or call 922-9296. The ECC, an agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, coordinates all activities, development plans and programmes within the early-childhood sector.

 

CAPTION: Chairman of the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), Trisha Williams-Singh (left), accepts cheques valued at $4.5 million from Board Director, the Project For The Advancement of Childhood Education (PACE) Canada, Ms. Diana Burke, in November 2016.

 

JIS: The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (January 10), started debate on legislation to give the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) university status.

 

The Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) Bill 2016 was piloted by Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Mike Henry. It will repeal the Caribbean Maritime Institute Act under which the institution operates.

 

Mr. Henry said the legislation provides an opportunity for the CMI to present itself as a niche market university to attract a greater number of foreign students.

 

He said that being accorded university status will also enable the CMI to access international grant funding. “It even provides the opportunity to present the sector for investment in the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). This will… make it more self-sustaining and globally competitive,” he pointed out.

 

The CMI is the only international entity approved for maritime training in Jamaica.

 

Over the years, the institute has expanded its scope of programmes to include degrees at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.

 

As a result of this expansion, the CMI has gained national, regional and international recognition by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport of the United Kingdom, the International Maritime Organisation, CARICOM, and the World Maritime University.

 

“Upgrading of the institution to university status is congruent to the increasing quality of the maritime programmes offered and the growing student demand, for which we must all be proud,” Mr. Henry noted.

 

The Transport Minister said the CMI continues to make significant contribution to the Jamaican economy by bridging the employment gap.

 

Debate on the Bill will continue in the House of Representatives.

 

CAPTION: A section of a roadway leading to the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI), at Palisadoes Park, Kingston. 

JIS: The Government has increased funding to 1-888-PROTECT (776-8328), the hotline set up to receive reports of child abuse, which will enable the service to operate 24 hours.

 

The hotline, set up by the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), now operates 12 hours per day.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, made the disclosure at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House today (January 11).

 

He informed that the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) will be provided with additional funding of some $25.8 million in the 2017/18 Budget to more effectively provide key parenting skills at the community level.

 

He said these moves are in response to recent reports of abuse against minors.

 

Citing the recent case involving a 15-year-old girl, he informed that the Child Development Agency (CDA) has provided psychological assessment and counselling support to the victim, while members of her family have been referred to the Children and Family Support Unit (CFSU).

 

The CDA will also be engaging the family through parenting workshops.

 

Minister Reid said the Government will be providing a significant increase in funding for state childcare facilities for the next financial year.

 

“I want us to know that we are not only hearing the cries of the children and Jamaica, generally, but we are responding in a fulsome way,” he said.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, addresses a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday (Jan. 11).

JIS: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says the State is offering assistance to the child and family who have been caught up in the allegations of sexual abuse involving a local pastor.

 

In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Green said protection of the victim is of utmost importance to the Ministry, and the Child Development Agency (CDA) has begun its intervention with the family.

 

“Our CDA officers have gone in and have done a home assessment. We have already started counselling because we always think about how we can get our children back on a road where they can have a productive life and they can minimise the impact of the incident,” he noted.

 

The State Minister said the victim, who is 15 years old, and her sister, aged 13, have been removed from their family home and placed in “safe keeping”, adding that remaining teenagers in the home will also receive counselling.

 

Parental support will also be provided.

 

Mr. Green informed that the non-profit charitable organisation, Food ForThe Poor, has been contacted to provide home-related assistance, as the family dwelling is in poor condition.

 

In the meantime, the State Minister is urging the public to remember that the victim is a child and her interests should be protected. “Oftentimes, it is the child who suffers most, even when the case is adequately resolved through the courts,” he said.

 

Mr. Green has asked the CDA to provide a detailed report of its intervention to ensure that further harm is not being done.

 

On December 28 last year, the pastor was charged after the police caught him in a compromising position with the teenage girl in a car. The matter is now before the courts.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, in an interview with JIS News today (January 10), at his National Heroes Circle office in Kingston.

Jamaican students pursuing courses through the Joint Commission for Tertiary Education (JCTE), at the Ohio- based Hocking College will be able to benefit from scholarships valued at US$2,196 per semester as of March this year.

 

This flows from recent partnership agreements signed between the tertiary institutions through the Centre of Occupational Studies (COS) in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information. Some 500 students under the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) targeted for enrolment as of March 2017 are eligible to benefit from the scholarships.

  

Once students have NVQJ level – 2 certification, they can access these scholarship programmes at Hocking College – USA almost immediately through the Ministry of Education’s COS office or the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education.

  

To date, Hocking College has signed four partnership agreements with colleges in Jamaica. Each partnership provides the opportunity to develop specialized degree articulation agreements and opportunities for student and staff to study abroad.

 

 Under the degree pathway model developed with the JCTE, Hocking College will offer college credit plus courses delivered in Jamaica as well as summer classes offered at in the United States.

 

Hocking College – USA has had a longstanding relationship with Jamaica for more than 30 years, starting with its founding president, Dr John Light. The relationship was established with the Jamaica Tourist Board, the University of Technology (UTech) and the Western Hospitality Institute.

 

 Several private sector organisations such as Sandals Resort International, Super Clubs and Couples hotels together have sent thousands of Jamaicans to Hocking College – USA on scholarships either funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Hocking College or companies in the Jamaican tourism industry. The relationship was dormant over the past ten years however, after Dr Light retired.

 

In October 2016, a team from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information visited Hocking College to look at their Occupational Degree and to see how Jamaican institutions could partner with the college.  A new relationship was forged with the current president of Hocking College – Dr. Berry Young & Vice President Ms. Myriah Davis and Dr Cecil Cornwall representing the JCTE.

 

With the endorsement of Senator Ruel Reid, Minister of Education, Youth and Information and Dr. Grace Mclean, Chief Education Officer, Dr Cornwall headed a delegation of senior executives from the Ministry, HEARTTRUST/NTA, JTEC, Community Colleges and Teachers Colleges to Hocking.

 

On their return, the president and vice president of Hocking College travelled to Jamaica to sign several MOUs and in the presence of Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Senator Reid, an overarching MOU was signed. Other benefits to Jamaican students are expected to flow from the MOUs

 

Hocking College has described its offer to Jamaica as part of its global outreach thrust. Vice President Davis said this partnership initiative will provide a global context for academic learning and a vital opportunity for students to expand the scope of their knowledge and be better prepared to succeed in a global economy.

 

Pathways being developed include degree programmes among multiple JCTE partners in Culinary Arts, Hotel Restaurant Management, Health Information Management, Music, Cyber Security, Criminal Justice, Construction Management, Massage Therapy, Ecotourism, Agro ecology, Business, Geo-environment, Heavy Equipment, GIS/GPS and water/Wastewater Management.

 

CAPTION: Dr Berry Young (centre), president of Hocking College, USA signs a Memorandum of Understanding at the recent launch of the Occupational Studies Degree Programme in Montego Bay, St. James. Looking on are from left Mr Dean-Roy Bernard, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Minister, Senator Ruel Reid, Prime Minister Andrew Holness (second right), and Dr Cecil Cornwall, chairman of the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education.