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.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information Ruel Reid has announced the rollout of new initiatives to help students and teachers better prepare for examinations such as Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) in March and Caribbean Examinations Council Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CXC CSEC) in May/June 2017.

 

Additionally, the ministry said in a news release today that other initiatives such as the Alternative Pathways to Secondary Education started in March 2016 and a pilot school bus service, which began in November, are set to continue this year.

 

In a broadcast to the nation yesterday, Reid said the ministry intended to provide greater support to school leaders and teachers to improve the performance and general development of students and to cater to their varied welfare needs.

 

“We intend to customise education to suit the needs of each student, giving him/her the opportunity to maximise his/her potential,” he said.

 

The ministry has already started a series of Professional Development Sessions for teachers to provide additional support to a select set of schools as they prepare their Grade 11 students to sit the 2017 Caribbean Examinations Council Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate examinations in mathematics, English language and the sciences. A series of workshops has also been started for students to better prepare them for the examinations.

 

In his national broadcast ahead of the reopening of schools for the easter term, Reid said the ministry intended to support legislative changes to allow for programmes and entities to be more inclusive and efficient.

 

He noted that last September, Jamaica had one of the smoothest starts to the school year.

 

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

JIS: The HEART Trust/NTA, the National Youth Service and the Jamaican Foundation for Life Long Learning are to be merged.

 

Education Minister Ruel Reid says discussions about the process are underway.

 

He said other agencies in the education system will also be merged as part of the Government’s push to facilitate greater alignment with the needs of the labour market. 

JIS: A national mock examination for the 2017 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), designed by the Education Ministry,  will be administered in all primary schools on January 11 and 12.

 

State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says the examination will cover  Mathematics, Language Arts, Communication Task as well as practice papers for Social Studies and Science.

 

“For the first time we will be conducting a national mock examination. What normally happens is that the primary schools administer their own form of mock examination around this time to judge the level of the students in terms of their preparation and readiness for GSAT,” he told JIS News in an interview.

 

“We have already put together the examination and we will be providing all the papers to schools across the country. We will also be taking care of the marking process and provide the schools with the details in terms of the students and the areas they may need to focus on to ensure that their readiness is brought up to an acceptable level for GSAT,” the State Minister added.

 

Mr. Green said  this move will assist schools to tackle the challenges related to administering the examination, particularly printing costs.

 

Meanwhile, the State Minister said all is on track in preparation for the 2017 GSAT, slated for March 16 and 17.

 

Mr. Green told JIS News that final arrangements are being made, with emphasis on making provisions for students with special needs.

 

“In January we normally make a call to all the parents, whose children may have special needs for the examination, to provide us with that information and those children that are visually impaired and require special accommodation,” he said.

 

 Mr. Green said a bulletin is to be issued next week to primary schools across the island that are reopening for the new academic year, to collect information to accommodate students with special needs, who are sitting the examination.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green.

Senator the Honourable, Ruel Reid, CD

Minister of Education, Youth and Information will address the nation on back to school matters on SUNDAY, January 8, 2016.

RADIO: On TBC at 7:30 pm and all other radio stations at 8:00 pm

TV: CVM at 7:00 pm, LOVE TV at 8:00 pm and TVJ at 9:30 pm