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HEART/NTA, JFLL and NYS to Merge

JIS: Three of the island’s training institutions will be merged to better cater to the needs of Jamaicans.

 

They are the HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL), and the National Youth Service (NYS).

 

Making the disclosure during yesterday (Feb. 1) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator Hon. Ruel Reid, said the merger falls in line with the Government’s Public Sector Rationalisation Programme and will result in greater synergy and efficiency.

 

“There is a lot of overlap, duplication with what the JFLL is doing and what is happening in some of the programmes in NYS and the mainstream HEART programmes. What we are doing is putting all of them under one umbrella and expand the scope,” he said.

 

He said with the merger will also allow for more resources will be allocated to other critical agencies within the Ministry.

 

“If you combine the budgets of the (NYS and JFFL) it is about $800 million. So what is happening is that HEART is absorbing that budget and the operations and this will allow for the resources to be otherwise utilised for other activities within the broader Ministry of Education operations,” he said.

 

Senator Reid said shared services will be incorporated and will result in less duplication in areas of human resource, finance and communication.

 

CAPTION: HEART Trust/NTA Leap Centre in downtown Kingston.

Nutrition Products to Increase Output

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is moving to strengthen the operations of Nutrition Products Limited (NPL) in Kingston.

 

This is being done to expand its output and increase the number of early childhood, primary and high school students islandwide who are provided with meals, Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, has said.

 

Nutrition Products Limited currently provides approximately 300,000 students in over 800 schools with breakfast and/or lunch each week.

 

They include youngsters on the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), and others deemed vulnerable.

 

Speaking with journalists following a tour of NPL’s production facilities at its head office on Marcus Garvey Drive, yesterday (January 31), the Minister expressed satisfaction with NPL’s operations.

 

“The company is very efficient…and the products are wonderful. I am seeing a tremendous effort to focus on the use of local products. I think they are really focused on that clear policy directive,” he added.

 

Among the meals produced are: sandwiches, muffins, bread, rock cakes, cornmeal porridge, cream of wheat, flavoured milk and juices.

 

“My tour is to get a first-hand look at their capacity so that the NPL’s team and the Ministry can have a clear strategy about how we are going to deliver on our commitment. We want to see how we can strengthen the operations so that we can serve our children much better,” the Minister said.

 

Senator Reid said as part of the strategy to increase meal provisions, the Government increased the Ministry’s allocation for this engagement this year by $2.4 billion to $5.2 billion, noting that this “has been the largest movement within our budget.”

 

“So, the Government is really committed to reaching out to the poor and vulnerable (students in our schools),” the Minister assured.

 

An agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Nutrition Products Limited was established in 1973.

 

It produces and distributes nutritious snacks to schools from its plants in Kingston, St. Mary and Westmoreland.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (right), and Special Advisor, Robert Miller (centre), examine bulla cakes manufactured by Nutrition Products Limited, during a tour of the entity on Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston on January 31. At left is Chief Executive Officer of Nutrition Products, Orville Lewinson.-

UNESCO Providing Technical Support to Craft Strategic Plan for Tertiary Education

JIS: A delegation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris was in Jamaica recently to provide technical assistance to the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC) in framing a strategic plan for the sector.

 

The delegation comprised Head of the Higher Education Section, Peter Wells; Programme Specialist in charge of Higher Education, Hassmik Tortian; and Programme Specialist in charge of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Higher Education Articulation, Katerina Ananiadou. Speaking with JIS News, Institutional Monitoring Officer at J-TEC, Novlet Plunkett, said that the visit, which was an initial scoping mission, was for the purpose of collecting data to inform the strategy.

 

“It is important that the tertiary sector responds to the changing nature of tertiary education. Changes, which include demographics, modalities for programme delivery and the various demands being made on the sector necessitate the development of a strategy,” she said.

 

During the six-day working visit, the team met with several key stakeholders including senior representatives from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information; the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; tertiary institutions such as the University of the West Indies (UWI); University of Technology (UTech); The Mico University College; and Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI); the Council of Community Colleges; Teachers Colleges of Jamaica; Joint Board of Teacher Education; the Jamaica Association of Private Tertiary Institutions; Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA); West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT); and Jamaica Union of Tertiary Students.

 

The team also met with representatives of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica, and JAMPRO.

 

Mrs. Plunkett noted that tertiary education is a major contributor to national growth, so it was very important that the team interfaced with representatives of these organisations.

 

“Some of the outcomes we expect from this initiative are policy directives, which will be used to guide the development of the sector, an enhanced understanding of the role of all of the key players, clarity on the nature of tertiary institutions required to meet national demands and also clarity on the role of private versus public institutions,” she said

 

Mrs. Plunkett indicated that a report will be compiled and the details of this report will be made available to all stakeholders.

 

“We will be engaging the institutions and organisations that participated in the meetings to examine the report and to provide feedback,” she said.

 

J-TEC was established through the Education System Transformation Programme (ESTP) of the Ministry as the regulatory body for tertiary education in Jamaica.

 

Its primary mandate is to regulate, standardise, safeguard and transform Jamaica’s tertiary education sector.

 

J-TEC has a responsibility to maintain quality and ensure that the sector meets world-class standards, particularly through regulation, registration and development.

 

CAPTION: Commissioner of the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC), Maxine Henry-Wilson (3rdleft); Institutional Monitoring Officer at J-TEC, Novlet Plunkett (right); and Programme Specialist for Education, UNESCO Jamaica, Claude Akpabie (3rd right), share a photo opportunity with members of the team from the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. From left are: Head of the Higher Education Section, Peter Wells; Programme Specialist in charge of TVET and Higher Education Articulation, Katerina Ananiadou; and Programme Specialist in charge of Higher Education, Hassmik Tortian.

Empowerment Day for Boys at St. Catherine High School

JIS: A Male Empowerment Day was staged for boys attending St. Catherine High School, in Spanish Town yesterday (January 31), at which they were exposed to methods that can be used to solve various social issues.

 

The event, held under the theme: ‘Dare to be Positively Different’, featured a keynote presentation from State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, who emphasised the importance of respecting others, and shunning the culture of coarseness.

 

Mr. Green told the students that they must select carefully the types of association they wish to join, as “they can make or break you.”

 

“The friends that you keep can either help you to do well or to do poorly,” the State Minister added.

 

Meanwhile, Principal of the school, Marlon Campbell, appealed to the males to foster good relations with the female students, and not to forget the reason why they are in school.

 

“If we lack education, we will never move forward,” the Principal said, adding that the boys were sent to the school to “learn and be educated.”

 

There were also presentations by representatives from the Broadcasting Commission, Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), and the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP).

 

The boys also participated in discussions on topics such as: ‘Managing Emotions and Sexual Urges’; ‘Discipline and Deportment’; ‘Implications of Early Sexual Activities’; ‘Managing Conflicts’; ‘Shortcuts to Success’; and ‘Taking the Right Stairs’.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, addresses boys at a Male Empowerment Day, staged at St. Catherine High School, in Spanish Town yesterday (January 31).

 

Education ministry to provide more assistance for Liberty Academy

JIS: The Ministry of Education is to provide additional financial and human resource support to the privately run Liberty Academy at Priory.

 

This was disclosed by portfolio Minister Ruel Reid following a tour of the facility’s Hope Road location in St Andrew yesterday.

 

There is currently an arrangement between the institution and the government, where some students with special needs are placed at the school each year, and whose fees are paid by the ministry. The salaries of two special education teachers are also paid by the ministry.

 

Reid said he is “very impressed” with the work of the Academy, which is one of the country’s “premier inclusive educational institutions…that ably caters for the diverse needs of our students.”

 

He said this new partnership, which will entail the provision of key personnel and an annual subvention, is aimed at giving the school further support to improve the quality of performance and output.

 

In the meantime, Executive Director and Founder of the Academy, Suzanne Williams, said she appreciates the visit and the Ministry’s commitment to further assist the school.

 

She noted that the institution has been working with the Ministry on an ongoing basis since 2007.

 

Williams further informed that the school has a mix of regularly performing and above average students, and also facilitates students with exceptional needs.

 

The institution offers an inclusive programme of education, catering to 260 students between three and 18 years of age. The school operates kindergarten, junior, high school, and exceptional needs departments.

 

A church-affiliated institution, Liberty Academy at Priory commenced operations in 1994. It functions as an outreach ministry of the Swallowfield Chapel.  

 

Accredited by the Ministry of Education in 2001, the institution is also a registered non-profit organisation which operates under the guidelines of the Jamaica Independent Schools’ Association.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Ruel Reid (right), in discussion with Special Education Coordinator, Liberty Academy at Priory ,Toni-Ann Millen (left), as he is taken on a tour of the institution’s  Special Education Department. In the background (at centre) is Executive Director and Founder of the Academy, Suzanne Williams. The Minister visited the school’s Hope Road location in St Andrew on January 31. (Photo: JIS) 

Education Minister Welcomes New Law School

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, has welcomed a joint venture partnership to establish a new law school in the Caribbean.

 

The move, which involves collaboration among the Government of Guyana, the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), and the Law College of the Americas (LCA), will facilitate access to enhanced legal education for a wider cross section of qualified persons.

 

Minister Reid said with more trained lawyers, Jamaica could become a major player in the provision of legal services for overseas clients, thereby attracting more international investors.

 

He noted that financial and legal services are big a part of the economies of Hong Kong and London, among other areas around the world.

 

“This is what we want to see in Jamaica, where legal practitioners and other professionals are producing services for people not only in Jamaica, but across the world,” he said.

 

Senator Reid was speaking at a ceremony to launch the partnership held on January 26 at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.

 

The new institution, to be called the JOF Haynes Law College of the Americas (JHLSA) in the Caribbean, is expected to be one of the largest law schools in the region. The headquarters and main campus will be in Guyana.

 

Graduates of the Bachelor of Law programmes at the UCC/LCA Law Faculty, as well as graduates from other law faculties across the Caribbean, will be given priority admission to the planned two-year programme, effective September 2017.

 

Attorney General, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, said the school will “significantly” improve access to legal education in the Caribbean.

 

“It is a timely response to the increased demand for legal education in the Caribbean, and is well placed to cater to the needs of the region while adding to growth and development,” she noted.

 

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs in Guyana, Basil Williams, for his part, said the new institution will address the high demand for space in law schools.

 

He pointed out that with more persons in the region studying in his country, they will be able to benefit from resources that Guyana is “on the threshold of unleashing.”

 

President of the LCA, Dr. Velma Brown Hamilton, said that the partnership offers “new beginnings and limitless possibilities” for persons desirous of becoming lawyers.

 

She said it solidifies the vision of the LCA to provide increased access to legal education for Caribbean people.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (2ndleft), has the attention of (from left): Group Executive Chairman of the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), Dr. Winston Adams; President of the JOF Haynes Law College of the Americas (JHLSA), Dr. Velma Brown Hamilton; and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs in Guyana, Basil Williams. Occasion was a ceremony to launch the partnership to establish the law school, held on January 26 at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.

Education Matters | Education Ministry Partners With Stakeholders To Assist Students Choose Career Paths

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

 

– Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

 

In some sports such as football, parents will often take their children out to the backyard to practise from a young age. Even without much expertise, a lot of money, or time, great effort is invested attempting to develop their skills. Whether in school, pushing your child to join a team, or at home seeking for a child to join a club, investing in opportunities to practise, practise, and yet more practise, can be seen.

 

Of course, this is not just relegated to sports enthusiasts, but also off the field as we seek to develop our careers. Career development takes years to cultivate and should start early. To this end, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, HEART Trust/NTA, and Junior Achievement Jamaica have undertaken a programme to align career education from early childhood to the future business needs in Jamaica while developing the ecosystem (businesses, parents, NGOs, and global partners).

 

Stakeholders in the education sector have convened and are collaborating in the journey of a child into adulthood and his readiness to become an entrepreneur by owning his business or effectively contributing to the success of his workplace.

 

 

 

GUIDANCE NEEDED

 

 

The need for a realignment of career development comes from the lack of preparedness by Jamaican youth for their future as they graduate from secondary and tertiary education. Guidance is needed for students who either do not know what they would like to do or the best ways to accomplish it.

 

Another challenge is the need to provide motivation for those youth who do not consider education or a career path as a means to a sustainable livelihood.

 

The reality is that few students are able to make informed decisions when choosing subjects at the end of grade nine. They should, instead, be guided on a continuous basis from the earliest years in school.

 

– AWARENESS:

 

Discover interest, ability, and values.

 

– EXPLORE:

 

Investigate work of parents and their interest.

 

– PREPARE:

 

Acquire knowledge to perform job.

 

– INVESTIGATE:

 

Experience the reward and responsibility of work.

 

 

 

CAREER EDUCATION

 

 

Against this background, the Career Integration Committee will host National Careers Week (NCW) 2017 under the theme Expanding Horizons, Vision 2030. During the NCW, primary and high school students will be engaged islandwide through a series of displays, forums, and practical working experience. The activities are structured to highlight our students’ career education throughout the school year at all levels, introduce global competitiveness, reward innovation in product design, and engage regional and national partners.

 

Career development will be practised in an interactive thought-provoking way. Students will showcase their ideas for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) based on product development; display artwork; and give business pitches. Students are also learning about the world of work and creating displays of a Vision 2030 workplace.

 

Labour-market presentations will help to inform persons about Jamaica’s anticipated career needs. Students will participate in Take Your Child to Work Day job shadowing to further examine or think about a Jamaica with them working in it.

 

The preparation of our youth to excel in any career starts with intentional practice from a young age and it involves everyone. Join us during NCW 2017, from February 11-17, to highlight careers.

 

– Alphie Mullings-Aiken is president of Junior Achievement Jamaica. Article submitted by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information.

 

CAPTION: Students from Charlemont High School present their school-run business to judges from the JPS and Scotiabank at the José Marti High School 2017 Regional Forum.

Students Urged to Pursue Studies in Non-Traditional Areas

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid is urging students to pursue academic studies and professions in non-traditional areas, such as agro-science.

 

He made the call during a founders’ day ceremony at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) campus located at Passley Gardens, Portland on January 28.

 

“The world of ago-science offers a multitude of career opportunities that should be grasped with both hands. As we move to understand the past and current trends in agriculture, we see that science and technology are crucial components to be used more efficiently if some of the opportunities are to be utilised,” he said in a message ready by Education Officer, Lebert Drysdale.

 

Minister Reid said the Government is creating the enabling environment to guide students in exploring career paths other than the traditional professions of law and medicine.

 

“New training opportunities as in the Career Advancement Programme, the thrust towards the Occupational Studies degree programme and the offerings of the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI)…are helping our young people to see that there are different paths of achieving individual prosperity and national development,” he said.

 

He added that students need not be locked in traditional perspectives that seem to limit or stymie their interest and capabilities.

 

In the meantime, Mr. Reid said the achievements of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education should serve as inspiration to all.

 

He said while the school was founded to train just a handful of young men in the “art and science of agriculture”, it has grown well beyond that and now have bigger and bolder visions.

 

Senator Reid added that in the first decade, the school had among its illustrious graduates, Dr. T. P. Lecky, an animal geneticist who became world renown after developing the Jamaica Hope and Jamaica Black breeds of cattle.

 

“We need more Dr. Lecky’s in Jamaica. And we need others who will see the opportunities that lie in the linking of traditional areas of training to the new and changing demands of the workplace. Of course, we will have to do that while making use of the still evolving world of information, communication technology,” he said.

 

The Education Minister also stated that the Ministry considers the work of the institution integral to its mission of providing high quality care and education in an innovative, inclusive and enabling environment thereby creating socially conscious and productive Jamaicans.

 

CASE is the only tertiary institution dedicated to the training of students in the art and science of agriculture and allied discipline.

 

The ceremony commemorated the 107th anniversary of the founding of the Government Farm School on January 25, 1910.

 

CAPTION: Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Lebert Drysdale (centre) looks on as recipient of the Distinguished Old Farmer of Excellence for 2017, John R. Gayle (left) greets Old Farmers’ Association of North America (OFANA) scholarship awardee, Moya Campbell during a founders’ day ceremony at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), campus located at Passley Gardens, Portland on January 28.

300 Additional Basic Schools to be Certified by 2019

JIS: The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) is well underway with work to certify 300 additional basic schools meeting its 12 qualifying Standards, over the Board’s three-year tenure.

 

This exercise, when completed in 2019, will bring the number to 317, following last year’s certification of the first 17 of the approximately 2,700 early childhood institutions in operation.

 

The ECC’s Acting Executive Director, Karlene Degrasse-Deslandes, tells JIS News that 100 institutions, with an enrolment of approximately 10,000 children, are being targeted under the initial phase of the current certification exercise, which commenced last September and is scheduled for completion in August this year.

 

She says the agency is in the process of completing the certification of 22 of the 100 institutions shortlisted from 183 identified island wide.

 

The 22 are located in Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny and Portland.

 

Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes says these schools have attained between 90 and 99 per cent of the certification standard requirements, adding that the remaining 73 institutions’ state of compliance ranges between 70 and 99 per cent.

 

She tells JIS News that the factors and considerations influencing selection of the 100 institutions included, inter alia, the outcome of inspections detailing schools’ operations; and operators’/practitioners’ willingness to work with the ECC in implementing the Standards.

 

The Standards outline specific stipulations relating to: staffing; developmental and educational programmes; interactions and relationships with children; physical environment; indoor and outdoor equipment, furnishing and supplies; health; nutrition; safety; children’s rights, protection and equality; interactions with parents and community members; administration; and finance.

 

She notes the significant interest generated among practitioners/operators following last July’s certification of the first 17 institutions.

 

“We received a lot of calls from persons querying (how they too could get their institutions certified). So we sought to engage those initial institutions/practitioners displaying the greatest interest,” she points out.

 

The Acting Executive Director says the ECC, thereafter, reviewed each institution’s inspection report, adding that working in tandem with the entity’s inspectors and development officers, “we were able to choose the 183 schools and, from that, to get the 100.”

 

Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes indicates that subsequent to finalizing the selections, the ECC undertook work to identify areas of institutions’ operations deemed in need of strengthening.

 

Notable among the focus areas was the need for more structured training in financial management and corporate governance, as well as heightened stakeholder awareness regarding child abuse and paediatric first aid, among other stipulations under the ECC Standards.

 

In this regard, she says several training sessions were staged for a number of practitioners.

 

These include money management training workshops for persons in parishes in the ECC’s Regions One and Two. Region One incorporates Kingston and St. Andrew, and Region Two – St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary.

 

“We will next be going to Region Five, comprising the parishes of St. Elizabeth and Manchester.

 

We have increased our drive to ensure that the Standards are user-friendly, so that persons can understand what they need to do to get their institutions certified,” the ECC Acting Executive Director points out.

 

Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes says the ECC’s certification fairs have been pivotal in assisting practitioners, operators, parents and other stakeholders to better understand the Standards.

 

She explains that the concept, which was introduced ahead of the start of the 2016/17 academic year, last September, replaces the back to school fairs previously held which, she notes, focused only on general preparations.

 

“This (2016/17) year, we decided on a change. Based on the mandate of the new Board (of) having 100 ECIs certified by August, it meant that we needed to change the way we went about doing certain things,” she adds.

 

In this regard, Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes says the annual exposition’s theme was revised to focus on heightening awareness about the 12 Standards, with emphasis on the performance criteria under each.

 

Two fairs have been staged so far. The first was at Jamaica College in St. Andrew in August, and the second at Lynch Park, Portland, in October. A third is slated for St. Elizabeth in February.

 

Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes says the feedback from both partner stakeholders and beneficiaries to the fairs as well as the overall certification programme has been very positive.

 

“We had over 2,000 persons at Jamaica College and more than 500 schools represented. At Lynch Park, we had over 800 persons and 148 institutions represented, which was extremely good,” she adds.

 

Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes notes that while the outturn for the inaugural fair was surprising, it was pleasing.

“We had persons from almost all parishes…some from as far as Westmoreland. I believe persons wanted to know what the certification exercise was about…and what they needed to do (regarding their schools’ compliance). It also gave the staff a chance to interact with representatives of a number of the schools at the outset,” she adds.

 

The Acting Executive Director also hails the support being provided by a number of stakeholder partner agencies and entities.

 

Among these are: the Child Development Agency (CDA); Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF); Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ); Jamaica 4H Clubs; Nutrition Products Limited (NPL); Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB); and United Way.

 

Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes says efforts were made to have representatives from these entities on location to assist in explaining and administering activities and procedures supporting the performance criteria for each Standard.

 

“So we have had the police doing fingerprinting, public health officers doing food handlers clinics and the JFB explaining fire safety requirements and the importance of having a fire plan, and nutritionists from the Ministry of Health helping persons with their schools’ nutrition plans.

 

“These activities are designed to assist persons in attaining the Standards. So we brought these stakeholders together so that persons could access their services under one roof, (thereby enabling them to get) one step closer to certification,” she adds.

 

In acknowledging that the work to be undertaken with the remaining 73 schools “will be gradual”, Mrs. Degrasse-Deslandes says the ECC will do everything to ensure all 100 shortlisted schools are certified by August 2017, and is confident that the target can and will be met.

 

She emphasizes that the ECC Board’s focus on certifying the early childhood institutions over the next three years, “is ensuring that, over the long term, we have positive child outcomes.”

 

“We are speaking of a Jamaican child that can compete with any child anywhere in the world, at any time. So, we will tailor our interventions and our interactions, where necessary. Our children must be afforded the same start in order for them to get to where we need them to reach,” she adds.

 

For her part, ECC Chairperson, Trisha Williams-Singh, believes certification of the minimum 300 early childhood institutions is “achievable.”

 

“We are pretty confident because of the plans that have been put in place. Within the first six months of the Board’s tenure, we have identified the need for capacity building within the Early Childhood Commission. We have also looked at capacity building for the practitioners and deepening relationships with our partners,” she outlines.

 

Mrs. Williams-Singh says based on these and other key considerations, “I am confident that a minimum of 300 schools will be certified during the time of this Board.”

 

CAPTION: Early Childhood Commission (ECC) Chairperson, Trisha Williams-Singh (left), being updated on sector developments by Acting Executive Director, Karlene Degrasse-Deslandes.

ECC Standards Have to be Very High – State Minister

JIS: State Minister in the Education, Youth and Information Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green, says the standards set by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) for the sector have to be very high.

 

“We are dealing with the most vulnerable of our society, children who need care and protection, so we have to set the standards high. Countries come to Jamaica to model our standards,” he notes.

 

The State Minister was speaking at a certification ceremony for the St. Margaret’s Bay Basic School in Portland, at the school on January 26.

 

The school has been certified by the ECC for having attained 100 per cent of the Commission’s 12 standards.

 

Mr. Green welcomed the school’s certification, arguing that those schools which have already been certified feel and look different.

 

The certification process requires early childhood institutions (ECIs) to satisfy the criteria under the ECC’s standards, which relate to health and safety (public health and fire safety reports and police records); and educational quality, including teacher qualification certificates. They must also pass a stringent inspection process.

 

St. Margaret’s, which has been in operation for the past 61 years, is the first school to be certified in Region Two, which includes Portland, and has over 89 ECIs.

Already, approximately 27 out of 2,500 ECIs have been certified by the Commission.

 

The State Minister said that parents and community members must play their part in helping ECIs to become certified.

 

He called on non-governmental organisations to “adopt a school or cluster of schools” in a similar manner to the help which One Jamaica Foundation offered to

St. Margaret’s to get certified.

 

One Jamaica Foundation is spearheaded by Ann-Marie Vaz, the wife of Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and Member of Parliament for West Portland, Hon. Daryl Vaz.

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Green reiterated that there will be a realignment in the Education, Youth and Information budget for this 2017/2018 fiscal year, which will target primary schools and ECIs.

 

“We’re going to be increasing the grants that we give to our primary schools significantly,” he said.

 

In her address, Mrs. Vaz said her organisation collaborated with the ECC to ensure that St. Margaret’s was certified.

 

“When schools are certified, it means that all children across the island will get the opportunity to start from a level playing field. We want to give all children the same opportunity,” she said.

 

For her part, Acting Executive Director of the ECC, Karlene Degrasse-Deslandes, said that the agency is working to get 100 ECIs certified.

 

She said it is important for ECIs to be certified to ensure that children get what is necessary for their holistic development.

 

Principal, Marcia Barnes, expressed gratitude for the help in getting the school certified.

 

CAPTION:  State Minister in the Education, Youth and Information Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green (third left), interacts with (from left): Dammi Hannigan, Dominique Parkes and Drew Stewart of the St. Margaret’s Basic School in Portland on January 26. Occasion was a ceremony organised by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) to announce the certification of the school.