The Government is investing $400 million this year to upgrade laboratories in technical high schools, to better prepare students for a future driven by science, technology, and innovation.

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, who made the disclosure, said the funds, which are being allocated through HEART/NSTA Trust, will be used to equip at least one laboratory in every technical high school with state-of-the-art facilities.

“If we look at where the world is going, the top jobs are in the technical areas. That’s where the money is to be made and we have to help our children to understand that,” Dr. Morris Dixon said.

She was addressing day three of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) 61st Annual Conference at the Princess Grand Hotel in Green Island, Hanover, on August 20.

Dr. Morris Dixon pointed out that among the facilities being established are robotics labs at Dunoon Park Technical High School, Knockalva Technical High School, Frome Technical High School, and St. Elizabeth Technical High School.

Renewable energy laboratories will be installed at St. Andrew Technical High School, Marcus Garvey Technical High School, and Holmwood Technical High School, she added.

The Minister said that Kingston Technical High School and Vere Technical High School will receive virtual welding laboratories, while St. Thomas Technical High School is being equipped with an electrical engineering lab.

Other institutions include St. Mary Technical High, which will benefit from a robotics and industrial controls lab in the area of mechatronics; Herbert Morrison Technical will receive an optoelectronics lab; and José Martí Technical and Dinthill Technical will get mechanical engineering labs.

“We are not thinking small. It is us saying to our children that you deserve the best. What they have in North America or European schools is what we are working to bring here,” Dr. Morris Dixon underscored.

In the meantime, she noted that the Government’s vision extends beyond technical high schools.

She pointed out that a similar investment is pending to upgrade labs in all regular secondary high schools in the coming years.

This expansion is part of a broader plan to bolster education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Approximately $535 million will be disbursed to Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) beneficiaries ahead of the 2025/26 academic year.

A total of 106,590 students enrolled under PATH will receive the back-to-school grant, which will be added to their regular payments.

Payouts were scheduled to begin on August 19 and continue through September 2. Additional collection days are scheduled for September 4 and 5 to accommodate beneficiaries unable to collect on their assigned dates.

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security with responsibility for the Social Security Division, Audrey Deer-Williams, told JIS News that this year’s allocation represents an increase over the previous year, when each student received $3,500. She further informed that all grants have been increased by $5,000 or $10,000.

Notably, the tertiary bursary – available to students pursuing bachelor’s degrees at accredited institutions – has been increased by 50 per cent, from $100,000 to $150,000.

Mrs. Deer-Williams explained that the bursary is renewable, provided recipients maintain a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5.

Students wishing to pursue Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects or certificate/skills training can apply for a one-time grant of $20,000 and $25,000, respectively.

Grants valued $35,000 are available to students registered to sit Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) units, while those pursuing diplomas or associate degree programmes may apply for grants valued $40,000.

Mrs. Deer-Williams told JIS News that the application period for PATH education bursaries and grants is currently open.

She said the application period for the tertiary bursary runs from August to October, while post-secondary grants have two application windows: August to October and January to March.

“Preparing for back to school can be challenging for parents. So this is additional support to the parents who are amongst the poorest in the country, as we work to help to ease the burden,” Mrs. Deer-Williams stated.

Student-teachers at Church Teachers’ College in Manchester and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland are to benefit from the installation of smart labs. 

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information and Digicel Foundation, on Friday (Aug. 15), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the facilities under the Smart Lab programme.  

Fully equipped labs have already been set up at three teachers’ colleges – St. Joseph’s and Mico University College in Kingston and Sam Sharpe in St. James, transforming these spaces into modern learning environments.  

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Kasan Troupe, expressed pleasure that the programme, which was first implemented in primary schools in 2022, has been expanded to the teacher training institutions. 

“So, the pre-service preparation is extremely important because it means that the teachers are coming out already exposed to 21st Century devices and equipment and so, they are up to par with the students,” she said, while addressing the signing of the MoU at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle headquarters in Kingston. 

“We cannot be afraid of using the technology… so we must teach our teachers to interact with it and to embrace it and this is what the Digital Foundation is doing today,” Dr. Troupe pointed out. 

She extended gratitude to Digicel Foundation for its continued support to the education sector.

Each smart lab is being constructed at a cost of US$80,000, which covers the renovation and retrofitting of existing  spaces. 

They will be fitted with laptops, tablets, a smart board with Mimio learning software, two-year free Digicel internet access and teacher training software.    

Establishing smart labs in the teacher training colleges is expected to help trainee teachers build confidence and competence in integrating technology into their lessons and allow educators to explore and become familiar with the MimioStudio software.

It will also provide an opportunity to populate the Mimio software with locally relevant content, contextualised to the Jamaican curriculum and culture, while promoting a sustainable model of digital education by embedding the practice of technology integration into teacher preparation, not just classroom delivery. 

Chairman of Digicel Foundation, Joy Clark, pledged to continue working with the Education Ministry to change lives, noting that the entity is dedicated to “making Jamaica the best place for our children.”

She expressed gratitude to the colleges for working with the Foundation, adding that she is looking “forward to the success stories that will come from the schools”.  

Construction will begin on August 19 at Church Teachers’ College. Renovation works are expected to be undertaken over eight weeks, with an additional four weeks to fully retrofit the smart labs with the necessary technology.

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information is reporting improvement in the performance of Jamaican students in the May/June 2025 sitting of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) English A and Mathematics.  

Portfolio Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, said 85 per cent of students received a passing grade in English A, while 44 per cent passed Mathematics.  

In 2024, 76 per cent and 39 per cent of students passed English A and Mathematics, respectively.  

“The regional average is 80 per cent of students passing English A. We have surpassed the region in English A. The regional average is 39 per cent of students passing Mathematics. We are above the regional average again, in Mathematics,” Dr. Morris Dixon said.  

She was addressing a press conference held on Friday (August 15) at the Ministry’s Heroes’ Circle offices in Kingston, where she presented a report on Jamaica’s performance in CSEC and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). 

Dr. Morris Dixon shared that at a meeting with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) on August 14,  concerns were raised about performance in Mathematics across the region.  

“It is something, as a region, that we’re going to have to tackle. We in Jamaica have already started it and it is very encouraging to see that we are above the region and we are going to continue on that thrust. We are inching up towards pre-pandemic numbers. In 2019, we would’ve been at 54 per cent and so we are slowly moving back to that in terms of Mathematics,” Dr. Morris Dixon reasoned.  

Meanwhile, performance in English A has exceeded pre-pandemic levels as the 2019 pass rate was 82.8 per cent.  

Some 30,514 students were registered for CSEC, but only 93.9 per cent sat the exams.   

Pass rates for other subjects are Principles of Business – 90 per cent; Theatre Arts – 92 per cent; Visual Arts – 83 per cent; Agricultural Science – 86 per cent; Biology – 84 per cent; Information Technology – 88 per cent; and Food Nutrition and Health – 93 per cent.  

In response to the growing mental health challenges faced by students across Jamaica, particularly those from trauma-affected communities, the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information is ramping up efforts to provide targeted psychological support in schools.

Portfolio Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, told JIS News that the Ministry has entered into contracts with a number of psychologists and psychiatrists to provide direct mental health services to students in need.

“If there are children in the school that need support, you can refer them and the Ministry will pay for that support,” she said.

Dr. Morris Dixon reasoned that trauma and violence continues to impact students’ ability to learn.

“Sometimes we say, ‘Oh, look at that school, look at their performance.’ Did you ever stop to think that that school has children who have been traumatized from they were born, and their brains have been rewired in a particular way? They’re coming to school not really ready for learning and you have to undo that,” she explained.

She underscored that traditional guidance counselling is not sufficient to meet these complex needs.

To this end, she advised that the Ministry has begun piloting cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions in select schools.

CBT is a more intensive therapeutic approach which is known to help children process trauma and develop healthier coping mechanisms.

The Minister stressed that this approach would follow a measured, data-driven model “you start small, you test it, see if it’s working and then you put more money towards it and expand.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Morris Dixon said the Ministry is exploring how to increase the number of guidance counsellors in schools.

“But also looking at other social workers in the system who could also provide more support to schools and to the families at the same time,” she said.

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, says the specialised laboratories being build out at technical high schools is just a start, noting that all secondary-level institutions will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

“We start this year with the 15 technical high schools and then every year [after], we’re going to be doing more of these state-of-the-art labs.

“It’s not normal things we’re doing, because we’re thinking bigger for our children. The world is changing and we believe our children should be there,” the Minister said.

She was addressing a Primary Exit Profile (PEP) awards dinner hosted by Member of Parliament for St. Andrew East Rural, Most Hon. Juliet Holness, at the Hillside City Centre in Lower Halls Delight on Thursday (July 31).

The labs being provided at the technical high schools will equip students in specialised areas such as digital construction, mechatronics, green technology and robotics.

Minister Morris Dixon said that the Government is undertaking the expansion and upgrade of laboratory facilities in the selected institutions to prepare young people for a technologically-driven future.

Providing details about the labs that some of the institutions will receive, she informed that Dunoon Technical High in Kingston will be equipped with a facility focused on digital construction.

“We’re talking about the future of construction. All the latest technology will be in that lab in that school,” she said.

In addition, Herbert Morrison Technical High School in St. James will receive a mechatronics lab.

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field that combines mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering to design and develop smart, automated systems such as those used in manufacturing processes.

The Education Minister pointed out that “in the future, many of our manufacturing companies are going to be using robots and automation, and so our children need to understand it.”

In recognition of future trends and technology, Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St. Ann will be equipped with a lab that is focused on renewables and green technology.

“So, they’re going to be looking at solar technology, they’re going to be looking at rainwater harvesting. All those new areas are what you’re going to have at Marcus Garvey Technical,” the Minister outlined.

She noted further that at St. Mary Technical High School, students will have access to a full robotics lab. “That is going to focus on industrial controls, which is about automation,” she pointed out.

Dr. Morris Dixon emphasised that the Government is doing the work required to raise the standard of every school in Jamaica.

The Jamaica Library Service (JLS) summer programme is now under way with hundreds of students across the island being engaged under the theme ‘Keep Reading Alive in 2025’.

This initiative, which is being held during the months of July and August, aims to foster a love for reading, creativity, and critical thinking among children.

It involves collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information.

The Education Ministry, in a bulletin, said that the summer programme, which aligns with its literacy objectives, offers a variety of interactive, educational, and creative activities for children at the JLS’s parish or branch libraries. These include reading circles, authors’ corner, sports day, music sessions, art and craft workshops, think and draw, and much more.

The activities are carefully curated to promote literacy, creativity, and social engagement, making summer both meaningful and enjoyable for young learners, the Ministry said.

Parents, guardians, and school communities are encouraged to support children’s participation in this exciting programme. Interested patrons can contact their nearest parish library or the JLS headquarters at 1-876 926 3310-2 for more information on registration and participation.

The schedule for the JLS summer programme is July 14 to 25 – Kingston and St. Andrew, Clarendon, St. James, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, Portland, St. Thomas, Hanover, and Westmoreland; July 21 to 31 – St. Ann Parish Library; and August 11 to 22, St. Catherine Parish Library.

The JLS summer programme offers an engaging and educational environment for children aged four to 14 years.

Beginning in 2026, grade-six students taking the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams will face fewer testing days with Mathematics and Language Arts assessments, as they will be condensed into single-day sittings under new changes.

This was announced by Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, during a Back-to-School Conference for Principals and Vice-principals from Region 2 (Portland, St. Thomas and St. Mary), held at Hideaway at Royalton Blue Water in Falmouth, Trelawny, on July 15.

“For the grade-six PEP, we’re going to collapse the exams together. So, this means you do all of your Mathematics on one day and all of your Language Arts on one day,” Dr. Morris Dixon outlined.

Moreover, the exam timeline is being shifted from February to the months of April and May to give educators more time to deliver the curriculum to students ahead of the exams, said the Minister.

She noted that these changes are not a complete overhaul of the PEP structure but are immediate, manageable “low hanging” adjustments that aim to reduce stress, while improving the learning and teaching experience for students and teachers, respectively.

In addition to the scheduling changes, Dr. Morris Dixon pointed out that the Ministry is to introduce new literacy and numeracy questions within the grade-six PEP papers. This is to help the Ministry gauge and assess the numeracy and literacy levels of students at the end of primary school, she noted.

“It’s just some questions that we’ve added that give us a touchpoint on numeracy and literacy [because] currently we do not test literacy and numeracy at PEP.  PEP is testing the extent to which you’ve mastered the curriculum. It’s a curriculum-based test,” Dr. Morris Dixon said.

In the meantime, the Minister indicated that for grade five, the Ministry is considering discontinuing the PEP exam, but has deferred a final decision pending further consultations with the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) and other stakeholders.

She argued that the idea is for the grade-five examination papers to be provided to schools for use as end-of-year school assessments.

“So, the only decision we’ve made, so far, is to collapse the exams, move them later for grade six, and add the touchpoint questions, so we can know numeracy and literacy numbers at grade six,” she added.

Dr. Morris Dixon said that these actions stem from a wider review of the PEP system that she initiated upon taking office, pointing out that the review focuses on two main questions – how to reduce the administrative and emotional burden of the exams and whether PEP is achieving its intended outcomes.

She indicated that the feedback collected through formal and informal consultations, as well as a recently distributed questionnaire, revealed a shared concern over the extended exam period and the pressure on students over the three-year testing in grades four, five and six.

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, has commended private sector and community stakeholders for their growing role in supporting Jamaica’s education system.

Addressing a School Leadership Conference for principals, vice principals and senior educators from Clarendon, held at Bahia Principe Resort in St. Ann on Tuesday (July 15), Senator Morris Dixon praised the contributions of private-sector entities for supporting the conference and ongoing initiatives possible, including the donation of laptop computers to high schools.

“That was amazing for them (high schools), and they continue to support. We’re now moving to… get devices and more smart boards to all of our primary schools. One of the things we really want to do in the Ministry is to have more tangible areas of support to you, principals, the senior teachers, as you do your work,” she told the educators.

Senator Morris Dixon also acknowledged the valuable contributions of government agencies and corporate sponsors, noting that the growing collaboration between the public and private sectors reflects a shared national responsibility.

“[This] says to me that corporate [entities] understand that they have a role to play now. We believe that all of Jamaica has to be a part of this effort we are on to improve our education system,” she stated.

Senator Morris Dixon said the Ministry plans to expand its reward framework with support from the business community.

“We want to celebrate you in bigger ways, financially and otherwise. We’ve already started through the PSOJ (Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica), and we’re going to continue… because we believe we need to… truly celebrate you and to reward you for that work,” she told the educators.

Parents are being urged to support their children through prayer, praise and presence.

The appeal was made by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Kasan Troupe, at Ardenne Preparatory and Extension High School’s Annual School-Leaving Ceremony, held at Ardenne High School in Kingston, on Wednesday (July 2).

Speaking on the theme, ‘Communication: Road Map to Success’, Dr. Troupe said: “When we pray, it’s communication with God. You must pray for them, with them on their behalf. You must talk to God about them.”

She reasoned that life is not a smooth path, noting that they will face persecution, difficulties and trials, which require them to communicate with God.

Dr. Troupe encouraged parents to praise their children and affirm them with encouraging words.

“Don’t tell them that they cannot make it. Don’t tell them about their limitations, because we are all different. There is no one path to success,” she said.

The Permanent Secretary shared that some parents may not be happy with the school their child was placed in following the release of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) results but assured them that their children can bloom where they are planted, because “there are fruits in all of us”.

Meanwhile, she said parents must communicate through their presence and not just their presents.

“You communicate by being there. You turn up, you come to school, you turn up with them and you talk to them. You turn up at home – too many of our boys and our girls are parenting themselves. They are on the telephone, they are on the device, there is no physical presence, there is no touch, there is no love, there is no hug, there is no forgiveness in each other, there is no crying in each other. You have got to turn up. That’s communication,” Dr. Troupe said.

She pointed out that the presence of parents is a critical ingredient on the road to success, as children need to see their parents and receive emotional, financial and physical support.

“For every good school that we have in the country, it is good because the parents turn up. The parents hold the Ministry accountable. The parents hold the school accountable. For every woman, for every champion, it is the parents’ presence that makes the difference,” Dr. Troupe said.