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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange (left), and Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, congratulate Olympian, Yohan Blake, following his victory in the Men’s 100-metres final during the 2022 National Senior and Junior Athletics Championships at the National Stadium, on Friday (June 24).

The Honourable Fayval Williams Minister of Education and Youth enpowers  young wards of the State during the Child Protection and Family Services’ Girls at 10 Empowerment Tea Party held recently.

As part of a campaign to encourage more fathers to read to their children, the Ministry of Education and Youth has unveiled a mural at 20-23 Church Street in downtown Kingston.

The unveiling of the colourful artwork depicting a father reading a book with his child, coincides with the observance of Father’s Day (June 19).

Dubbed ‘Fathers Read Too’, the campaign is aimed at highlighting the role of fathers in the educational development of children.

The mural which was commissioned by the ministry, was done in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation.

It was unveiled by Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams; Chief Education Officer (Acting), Ministry of Education and Youth, Dr. Kasan Troupe; Permanent Secretary (Acting) in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Maureen Dwyer; Country Representative, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Jamaica, Mariko Kagoshima; Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor, Delroy Williams; Project Manager, Fathers Read Too, Shantole Thompson and Director-General, Jamaica Library Society, Maureen Thompson.

In her remarks, Minister Williams called on the nation’s fathers, especially those with young children, to begin a habit of reading to and with their children, “if you don’t already do so.

“By starting the journey of building a lifelong love of reading for pleasure, parents are giving their children the opportunity to be the best they can be. Children who read for pleasure do better in a wide range of subjects at school and it also positively impacts children’s wellbeing,” the Minister said.

She added that reading together brings comfort and reassurance, confidence and security, relaxation, and happiness to children. “Giving a children time and the full attention when reading them a story, tells them they matter, it builds self esteem and their vocabulary. They learn more words, they learn new words. Reading feeds their imagination. Reading to your children is one of the greatest gifts fathers can give,” she said.

Minister Williams said the ministry has many resources available on its website and encouraged parents to visit libraries with their children.

She further noted that the Jamaica Library Service has an island wide network of 111 public and 898 school libraries.

“Ask your child to check out a book from school and bring it home. The JLS also has a mobile library service which serves some 394 communities, so there is no absence of resources. Even on your devices that you have, smartphones, laptops, tablets, lots of e-books are available there as well,” she said.

Minister Williams added that throughout the month of June and beyond, the ministry will continue the campaign. “We know that reading is the best gift from a father to a child because it will last for a lifetime,” she said.

Ms. Kagoshima said the campaign raises awareness and empowers fathers, noting that involved fatherhood is good for children. “You are giving spotlight to many fathers who do make this difference and letting other fathers know that you too can have a positive impact on your child’s development through reading,” she said.

Mayor Williams said the entire wall space on Church Street will be covered with murals over time. He said the placement of the mural highlights the totality of the family. “It’s right next door to another mural that is speaking to mother and child and so we see the totality of growing our children,” he said.

Project Manager, Fathers Read Too, Shantole Thompson said the mural has components such as the Agapanthus Lily which represents tenderness and compassion and is considered a magical and medicinal plant that only blooms in June, the month when Father’s Day is observed.

The mural was painted by Anthony Smith.

A new mobile messaging service dubbed ‘ParentText’ has been launched, providing another layer of support to Jamaican parents in becoming more effective in raising children.

The service, being executed under the United Nations Spotlight Initiative and funded by the European Union (EU), provides tips to parents and caregivers of children up to age 17 via text messages, audio and video clips.

The information is delivered through the popular mobile application, WhatsApp.

Speaking at the official launch at the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Caenwood Auditorium in Kingston on Friday (June 17), portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said the service “is a welcome addition to the suite of resources available” to Jamaican parents.

“Research and studies confirm that many parents have to be guided and coached to be able to do a better job,” she pointed out.

She said that through the platform, it is hoped that more parents will “take their responsibilities seriously and become more directly involved in their children’s education and overall care”.

UNICEF Jamaica Representative, Mariko Kagoshima, said the launch of the service locally is in light of research, which indicates that 85 per cent of Jamaican children under 15 years old are being subjected to violent discipline at home.

“Parents need help to learn skills to better understand and deal with the challenges of parenting. These skills can help break the cycle of family violence or prevent it from happening,” she said.

The developers of ParentText Jamaica, which is currently in the pilot phase, are aiming for 1,000 sign-ups across four of the Spotlight Initiative parishes – Kingston and St Andrew, St. Thomas, Clarendon, and Westmoreland.

Persons can access the service by texting the word ‘PARENT’ to 876-838-4897 on WhatsApp.

This initiates an automated response with a series of basic questions that will lead to evidence-base advice and information in areas such as positive reinforcement, relationship building and child behaviour management.

The messages were created and recorded with familiar local voices such as Owen “Blakka” Ellis and Glynis Salmon of Parenting Partners Caribbean (PPC).

The programme is supported by the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation, Children First Agency, PPC and the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC).

It was originally globally developed by the University of Oxford, Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) and IDEMS International (Innovations in Development, Education and the Mathematical Sciences) with funding from the LEGO Foundation.

Jamaica is the first in the Caribbean to launch ParentText. The service is also being implemented in Malaysia.