JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says a raft of strategies, including the establishment of a Math Consortium, will be rolled out this academic year in a bid to address the declining performance in the subject area at secondary schools.

 

Speaking at a back-to-school press conference at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle offices in Kingston on August 31, Senator Reid said the first meeting of the group will be held on Friday, September 2.

 

The Consortium will be made up of Mathematics experts and specialists who will provide support to schools in the teaching of the subject.

 

“We will work with all critical stakeholders to see if we can collectively deal with this problem,” he said.

 

The Consortium will closely analyse the data and make recommendations for implementation. “We have also taken note of the exit of some of our teachers and are examining this phenomenon as well,” he said.

 

Jamaica recorded a decline in the 2016 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics results.

 

Mr. Reid said the Ministry will monitor the performance of students moving to grades 10 and 11 in a bid to develop more targeted interventions across each school.

 

Mr. Reid said the Ministry will monitor the performance of students moving to grades 10 and 11 in a bid to develop more targeted interventions across each school.

 

“We will be working with the schools so that we don’t wait until results come out again and then we wonder why they have dipped. We are going to make sure we are very proactive in that regard,” he said.

Mr. Reid said the strategies will also focus on the intensive preparation of students for examinations.

 

Mr. Reid said the strategies will also focus on the intensive preparation of students for examinations.

The 2016/17 academic year begins on Monday, September 5.

 

The 2016/17 academic year begins on Monday, September 5.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left) and State Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, addressing a recent press conference.

JIS: The Government has spent $800 million to procure textbooks for the 2016/17 academic year.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, made the disclosure during a back-to-school press conference at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle offices in Kingston on Wednesday (Aug. 31),

 

He informed that the delivery of books to schools has started and will be completed by September 30, 2016.

 

Senator Reid said the Ministry provides core texts and materials for both primary and secondary institutions under the National Textbook Loan Scheme and the Primary Textbook Programme.

 

He noted that titles that appear on the 2016 to 2017 Approved Textbooks list offer adequate curriculum coverage.

 

“Therefore, schools must not include on their booklists, revision textbooks that address only a few areas of the curriculum/syllabus,” he said.

 

In the meantime, he informed that the Ministry has partnered with the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) this year in conducting textbook surveys.

 

The research indicates that consumers will pay an average increase of four per cent in the price of texts this academic year.

 

The CAC is encouraging parents to utilise the Ministry’s approved lists when making their purchases and where possible, the National Textbook Rental Scheme or buy pre-owned books.

 

“Parents, who haven’t yet purchased textbooks, are also urged to take advantage of lower prices where they are available, but ensure that a proper receipt is collected and retained should a complaint arise,” the Education Minister advised.

 

The 2016/17 academic year begins on Monday, September 5.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, addresses a back-to-school press conference at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle offices in Kingston on August 31

JIS: All critical repairs and construction being undertaken at schools will be completed before the start of the new academic year.

 

At a back-to-school press conference at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle offices in Kingston on August 31, Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid said $750 million is being used to effect repairs at 190 schools.

 

He said $70 million has been set aside for renovation or modification works leading to the creation of 30 infant departments and partitions at 15 primary schools.

 

Senator Reid added that the remaining 69 schools that use pit latrines will be provided with upgraded facilities during the financial year.

 

The project will be completed through a partnership with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, Food For The Poor and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

 

In the meantime, Mr. Reid said the distribution of school furniture will commence this week, and the process will be completed by the last week of September. More than 35,000 pieces of furniture will be procured.

 

Mr. Reid further noted that emphasis has been placed on procuring child-appropriate furniture for the early-childhood level.

 

On the matter of nutrition, Mr. Reid informed that more than 130,000 of the early-childhood cohort will be provided with breakfast and lunch, while other schools will receive money to prepare lunches at school.

 

The initiative falls under the Ministry’s School Feeding Programme, which is being undertaken in collaboration with Nutrition Products Limited.

 

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

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Government has provided budgetary support for all operational costs in schools.

 

He added that to ensure that all schools are equipped to deliver quality education in the absence of mandatory auxiliary fees, the Ministry has increased funding in several areas.

 

The overall allocation for the sector has been increased to $5.3 billion for this financial year, up from $2.6 billion, making the funding a minimum of $19,000 per student to cover operational costs. This includes utility payments and lab resources, among others.

 

A total of $300 million has also been allocated to hire part-time sixth-form teachers.

 

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) television back-to-school special forum, Senator Reid assured parents that “the design of the education system is such that there should be no fear in terms of impairment of quality”.

 

“We are making it very clear that every school has been targeted to ensure that they can deliver quality education,” he added.

 

The Minister pointed out that a Committee is being developed to examine school budgets and the areas to be approved for expenditure, with a view to standardise some areas, to prevent burdening parents with expenses not approved by the Ministry.

 

Senator Reid said research showed that 88 per cent of schools have been receiving contributions of approximately $5,000 per student from parents. With the provisions by the Ministry, he noted that these schools would now be in a much stronger financial position.

 

“We must have policy geared towards ensuring that no parent is going to be worse off, and that the children’s interests are protected. And that is what the Government is seeking to do; we are not underfunding schools but we are managing it in a way to deliver quality education (while) ensuring that there are no children that are denied access,” he said.

 

Senator Reid also said early disbursement of tuition support funds in June and additional payments to be made in September, December and April 2017, will serve to insulate schools from cash-flow problems.

 

Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer, Dr. Grace McLean, said in addition to the provision of resources and equipment for labs and technical and vocational areas, schools which encounter problems throughout the school year can also request additional support from the Ministry.

 

“There are really no hindrances at this time. We have gone above and beyond to make sure that we reorganise the resources internally for schools to have enough funds to be able to take care of the operational costs, so that quality education is provided for students,” Dr. McLean said.

 

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

Senator the Honourable, Ruel Reid, CD

Minister of Education, Youth and Information will address the nation on back to school matters on SUNDAY, September 4, 2016.

RADIO: On TBC at 8:30 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

JIS: Discussions are under way between the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information for the installation of a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system that links the Transport Centre with various high schools in the Corporate Area.

 

This was noted  by Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, during a back-to-school conference for Region One at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, yesterday (August 29).

 

“You as principals, right there in your office, will be able to see which of your children are out there loitering and we can deal with that,” he said.

 

Senator Reid said this forms part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy of the Government, which aims to provide internet access to public-sector entities.

 

The Minister noted that the strategy is also part of the Ministry’s approach to providing a safer environment for students and to dissuade them from loitering.

 

In the meantime, he said special constables will be assigned to the Transport Centre in Half-Way Tree to ensure that there is no loitering in the mornings, afternoons and evenings for students.

 

“This will ensure that they move with dispatch from the transport centre to our schools,” Mr. Reid added.

 

He said discussions are under way with the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) to reconfigure bus routes that eliminate the transport centre stop altogether for students.

 

“As it is configured, the traffic is designed to pass through the transport centre which creates a problem; so what we have asked them to do is to create special school bus routes so those buses that are picking up the students wouldn’t have to pass through the centre,” the Minister explained.

 

For the rural area, he said discussions are under way to devise a school bus system as well.

 

Over recent years, some students in the Corporate Area have used the Transport Centre as an area for loitering and to misbehave.

 

The conference was held under the theme ‘Growing Better Schools for Better Communities: A Policy Imperative’.

 

CAPTION: The Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre 

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says that all is in place for the start of the 2016/17 academic year on Monday, September 5.

 

“We (had) started the period of preparations from early and, certainly, where the secondary (schools) are concerned, they were way ahead because we started from June,” he said in an interview with JIS News.

 

“Where the primary and the other categories are concerned, we have also delivered all that we need to in terms of funding,” he noted further.

 

Minister Reid informed that furniture is being distributed to schools that require such items, adding that “a lot of infrastructure and maintenance work has occurred”.

 

Turning to the matter of textbooks, Mr. Reid said these are also being disseminated to schools.

 

“We are looking forward to a very smooth start of the school year and, of course, a very exciting and productive school year,” he told JIS News.

 

The Education Minister said that while he does not anticipate any major problems for the start of the new school year, if issues arise, they will be promptly addressed.

 

“I am not expecting any hiccups, but in human systems there will always be (glitches), but I think those will be very minimal and we will respond to those concerns if they exist,” he said.

 

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

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, has announced that the National Age-Four School Readiness Assessment shows that 92 per cent of children at the early-childhood level are at the required learning development stage and eight per cent within the international standard.

 

The Minister was speaking at the J. Wray & Nephew (JWN) Foundation scholarship awards ceremony, held on August 24 at the company’s corporate office in New Kingston.

 

The assessment tool was developed and administered collaboratively by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) and the Student Assessment Unit in the Ministry of Education to identify weak areas and undertake remedial interventions as well as make referrals for physical and emotional challenges displayed by the children.

 

This assessment, done by the teachers, will determine the readiness of four-year-old children to transition to the primary-school system.

 

It was used for the first time this year on May 10 and 11 in early childhood institutions across the island.

 

The Minister said the initiative is in line with the Ministry’s objective to foster quality education standards “from the womb” to the tertiary level.

 

“We have to build a robust and resilient education system from the base for persons to have a strong education from early up to age 29 and beyond. We have to ensure that children have a sound education from infancy,” he emphasised.

 

The assessment will become an annual activity.

 

Meanwhile, through the JWN Foundation scholarships, more than 100 families will be relieved of their back-to-school expenses.

 

Bursaries totalling $10 million, book vouchers and back-to-school supplies have been awarded to 85 secondary and 37 tertiary-level students.

 

The scholarship programme is open to students from the communities of Seaview Gardens and Waterhouse in Kingston and Appleton in St. Elizabeth, as well as the children of J. Wray & Nephew staff.

 

Chairman of J. Wray & Nephew, Clement Lawrence, said the programme, which is in its 10th year, is the company’s contribution to social development through the education sector.

 

“This represents a $2-million increase over the value of the scholarships offered last year and reaffirms our commitment to positively shape lives through education,” he said.

 

For the scholarships,  applicants must maintain a ‘B’ average and be recommended to the programme by a community member, church pastor or a member of the St. Andrew South Police Division, which is affiliated with the Foundation.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (right), is presented with a token on behalf of J. Wray & Nephew (JWN) Foundation, by scholarship recipient Lenworth Hydol, during the Foundation’s annual awards ceremony, held on August 24 at the J. Wray Nephew Limited’s corporate offices, in New Kingston. Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (right), is presented with a token on behalf of  J. Wray & Nephew (JWN) Foundation, by scholarship recipient Lenworth Hydol, during the Foundation’s annual awards ceremony, held on August 24 at the J. Wray Nephew Limited’s corporate offices, in New Kingston. 

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says to maintain strong and effective leadership in schools, the Ministry has been spearheading capacity-building initiatives for Principals.

 

The Minister notes that, to date, more than 700 principals have received training, with another 200 to be added by year end. This is being done through the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL).

 

Mr. Reid was speaking at the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) 52nd Annual Conference at the Hilton Rose Hall Hotel & Spa in St. James, on August 24.

 

“We are heartened by the scores of teachers who have been expressing an interest in the Aspiring Principals Programme,” he said.

 

The Minister explained that in keeping with various recommendations, the Ministry has been re-engineering its systems in a bid to improve accountability, levels of efficiency and the quality of service offered to stakeholders.

 

He pointed out that under the broad umbrella of Education Transformation, “we are in the final stages of restructuring into a policy, a ministry with new operational arms”.

 

“The proposed Central Ministry will set policy, standards and provide system oversight, quality assurance and monitoring to ensure effective implementation of policy,” Mr. Reid said.

 

He noted that, already, the Ministry is seeing the results of the restructuring that has taken place, and that through the National Education Inspectorate (NEI), “we have been able to examine the offerings of all Jamaican public primary and secondary schools and have made recommendations which many of you are currently implementing”.

 

The Minister said that since publishing its baseline report, the NEI has gone back into the field and will, in a matter of weeks, be releasing details of inspections of close to 100 schools.

 

“Colleagues, I want you to pay close attention to these reports,” Senator Reid urged.

 

He added that the Ministry remains committed to the development of teachers and will, during the upcoming academic year, continue the investments at both the in-service and pre-service levels.

 

Mr. Reid said the Ministry is providing 1,400 scholarships for both pre-service and in-service teachers in Math, Science, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) subjects, so as to ensure that adequate numbers with the right qualifications are available for the system.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Ruel Reid.