JIS: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean, says that school administrators are not allowed to employ temporary staff without the permission of the regional office.

 

She said that a full policy position on the hiring process for temporary personnel will be disbursed to institutions.

 

She was speaking at the National College for Education Leadership (NCEL)/National Council on Education (NCE) training session for principals and Board chairpersons, held recently at the Melia Braco Village in Trelawny.

 

Dr. McLean noted that the Government is supporting all temporary members of staff in schools as part of a framework to bolster the educational system.

 

As such, she said that institutions “no longer have to collect funds from parents to pay an additional maths teacher or to pay an additional secretary and clerical officer, because the Ministry has a budget to support that”.

 

“So any approval that is given, the Ministry will pay for that person. So it means, therefore, that the schools do not need funds to pay for temporary staff, because the Ministry is supporting that,” she added.

 

Dr. McLean said that the Government has been making the necessary investment in the nation’s children.

 

“So [for] our primary schools, which used to be provided with $850 per child, this went up to $2,500 per year, per child. For all-age and junior high schools, we moved you from the $1,100 to $17,000,” she noted.

 

“We also provided $2,000 for students on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) to buy their badges and epaulettes and any school items they require,” Dr. McLean outlined.

 

CAPTION: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean, addresses the National College for Education Leadership (NCEL)/National Council on Education (NCE) training session for principals and Board chairpersons held recently at the Melia Braco Village in Trelawny. Seated (l-r) are Director and Principal of NCEL, Dr. Taneisha Ingleton; Chairman of the Teachers’ Services Commission and Custos of St. James, Conrad Pitkin; and Executive Director of the NCE, Merris Murray.

JIS: The University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) has officially presented formal certificates of Institutional Accreditation to the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) and the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech).

 

Both universities were presented with the certification at an awards ceremony held during the UCJ symposium on quality assurance in higher education on March 12 at the Iberostar Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James.

 

Institutional Accreditation is the status granted to an institution that has been found to meet or exceed established standards for educational quality.

 

In addition, the Caribbean Maritime University, The Mico University College, the University College of the Caribbean, and Excelsior Community College have been presented with certificates of candidacy for institutional accreditation by the UCJ.

 

Director of Accreditation at the University Council of Jamaica Dr. Dottlyn Minot, stated that “these institutions have signalled their intention to apply for institutional accreditation’ in fact, they have submitted the requirements to become eligible for institutional accreditation”.

 

The Excelsior Community College in Kingston also received programme accreditation status for five of its existing courses, while eight programmes offered by The Mico University College received accreditation from the UCJ.

 

Also, a number of other colleges received accreditation for several Bachelor’s and Associate Degree programmes.

 

Bethlehem Moravian College in St. Elizabeth received accreditation for its Associate of Science in Business Administration, and Hospitality and Tourism Management programmes; while the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in the Corporate Area received accreditation for five programmes, including its Bachelor of Arts in Education and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts.

 

The UCJ has also given the stamp of approval to the Moneague College in St. Ann by awarding accreditation status to seven of its programmes, while the Montego Bay Community College received accreditation for eight programme offerings.

 

The Jamaica Stock Exchange, through its eCampus, received certificate of accreditation for its post-graduate Diploma in Financial Service Management; and the Jamaica Theology Seminary received accreditation for its Bachelor of Arts in Applied Behaviour Analysis and Bachelor of Arts in Applied Social and Professional Transformation.

 

Vector Technology Institute also received programme accreditation for three of its courses, including the Bachelor of Science in Technology Management.

 

CAPTION: Chairman of the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ), Dr. Carolyn Hayle (left), presents Deputy President of the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), who is also Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at the institution, Professor Ibrahim Ajagunna (second left), with a certificate of candidacy for institutional accreditation at an awards ceremony held during the UCJ’s Symposium on Quality Assurance in Higher Education on March 12, at the Iberostar Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James. Sharing in the moment (from third left) are Executive/Research Assistant to Professor Ibrahim Ajagunna, Lanna-Gaye Franklyn Green; Administrative Assistant to the Dean of General Studies at the CMU, Carlene McKinson; and CMU Consultant, Sonia Warmington.

JIS: The HEART Trust/NTA will be expanding its presence in St. Elizabeth in order to provide increased access to training and certification for residents of the parish and surrounding areas.

 

“We have acquired additional space in Junction to expand the offerings there,” said Managing Director of the agency, Dr. Janet Dyer.

 

“Junction is bursting at the seams, so we have now got that space, and we are seeking to expand the training there,” she added.

 

Dr. Dyer was speaking with JIS News at the agency’s ‘HEART in the Heart of Accompong’ event held at the Accompong Community Centre in St. Elizabeth on Tuesday (March 12).

 

The event served as both an assessment and registration exercise, and saw several residents taking advantage of the opportunity to be trained and certified by the agency.

 

“As the national training agency, we realised that we really do not have a presence in this area,” Dr. Dyer told JIS News.

 

“Through our HEART in the Heart of Communities programme and our mobile assessment team, we decided that we would come to Accompong to inform residents about the opportunities that are there. At the same time, we will do some assessments of persons, who might have been trained and not yet certified, or persons who have been working at a job for years and have no formal certification,” she pointed out.

 

Dr. Dyer said that the agency will be establishing a location in Accompong shortly.

“There is a space here and the owner is willing to share with the HEART Trust for us to be able to do training,” she noted.

 

For his part, Colonel of the Accompong Maroons, Ferron Williams, welcomed the initiative by HEART Trust/NTA, noting that it will ensure the certification of residents as well as promote lifelong learning.

 

“This is not only for those who want to have a trade. It is also (about) lifelong learning. Persons have been saying to me that they are too old, but I told them that the agency will still train and certify them,” Colonel Williams said.

 

The day’s activities included a diagnostic testing of residents in several skill sets, prior-learning assessment for persons in the areas of masonry and carpentry, as well as career coaching.

There were handicraft displays by community members, while the Social Development Commission (SDC) was on hand to provide information about its various programmes and activities.

 

The HEART in the Heart of Communities event has already been held in the parish of Portland, and is being staged in Stepney, St. Ann, on March 14.

 

CAPTION: Managing Director of HEART Trust/NTA, Dr. Janet Dyer (centre), greets Colonel of the Accompong Maroons, Ferron Williams (right) at the agency’s ‘HEART in the Heart of Accompong’ event held at the Accompong Community Centre in St. Elizabeth on Tuesday (March 12). At left is Director of the Educational Services Department at the HEART Trust/NTA, Rhoda Crawford.

JIS: The 2019 ‘Mathematics Teacher of the Year’ is expected to contribute to efforts by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information to raise student achievement in maths.

 

National Mathematics Coordinator, Dr. Tamika Benjamin, says the winner is required to apply the extensive knowledge and experience gained to benefit students and fellow teachers.

 

“Usually, we ask the person to help with professional development within their school and wider community,” she noted.

 

“Interestingly, two of the past recipients have become maths coaches in subsequent years, so they have actually been impacting many more schools than they probably would have before,” she added, while addressing a JIS Think Tank on Monday (March 11).

 

The Mathematics Teacher of the Year will be announced at the launch of National Mathematics Week at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St. Andrew on March 25.

 

The winner of the competition, which is sponsored by JN Bank, will be awarded a trophy; an iPad; a week-long all-expense-paid trip to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Research Conference and Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, California, in April; and one-year membership to the NCTM.

 

Conceptualised by the Ministry some five years ago, the competition aims to “highlight and celebrate excellent mathematics teaching at the primary and secondary levels of the education system,” Dr. Benjamin said.

 

Candidates are nominated by principals, their colleagues, parents or members of the Ministry staff (who work with a school). Every nomination must be approved by the relevant school principal.

 

The winner is selected after several rounds of classroom/school observations, interviews and presentations on a case study.

 

Meanwhile, Youth Marketing Officer at JN Bank, Shanna Kaye Wright, told JIS News that there are plans to increase the visibility of and public interest in the competition.

 

“In terms of our participation with the teacher who wins this year, we will ensure that they get placed more in the media… so next year, there will be way more people applying to be part of the competition and more people being influenced by current participants,” she noted.

 

“We really want to showcase to even persons who are attending [teachers’ colleges] now, so that they can say next year or years after, ‘I would want to be a part of this competition to showcase to Jamaicans that teaching is cool and maths does count’,” she added.

 

CAPTION: National Mathematics Coordinator in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Tamika Benjamin, says the winner of the Mathematics Teacher of the Year competition is expected to apply the knowledge and skills gained to benefit students and fellow teachers. She was addressing a JIS Think Tank on Monday (March 11).

JIS: Assistant Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Phylicia Marshall, has underscored the importance of the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) in creating a robust and reliable accreditation framework for higher education in Jamaica.

 

She noted the “excellent work” being done by the accreditation body in monitoring, auditing and assuring the quality of tertiary institutions and the programmes that they offer.

 

She said that the importance of the work of the UCJ “cannot be overstated, especially within the context of education and training being among the growth sectors of our society”.

 

“Employers, institutions and the general public [must] have confidence in the knowledge and competence of the graduates of our institutions for the various professions as well as for further studies,” Dr. Marshall pointed out.

 

“Students who seek to attend our institutions do so with the expectation that they will be receiving a quality educational experience, and that the certificates they obtain at the end of their programme of study will be recognised locally and internationally,” she added.

 

Dr. Marshall was representing portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, at the UCJ’s symposium on quality assurance in higher education, held on Tuesday (March 12) at the Iberostar Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James.

 

The event was part of the council’s 14th annual Quality Assurance in Higher Education Week, which is being observed from March 11 to 15.

 

A statutory body under the Education Ministry, the UCJ is the sole accreditation body in Jamaica for tertiary-level education and training.

 

The body is empowered to grant and confer degrees, diplomas or certificates for accredited programmes, register tertiary institutions that have met the required educational standards, establish equivalence and facilitate recognition of foreign qualifications, and assure the quality of programmes being offered in Jamaica by foreign institutions.

 

CAPTION: Assistant Chief Education Officer, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Phylicia Marshall, addresses the University Council of Jamaica’s (UCJ) symposium on quality assurance in higher education, held on Tuesday (March 12) at the Iberostar Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James.

 

JIS: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean, says the introduction of a full seven-year secondary school programme “is a serious game changer for education in Jamaica”.

 

She explained that the programme grants sixth-form students the opportunity to leave grade 13 with an associate degree and enables them to move into a tertiary institution to complete their bachelor’s degree in another two years.

 

“What it means is that every single child, whether they are at the lowest level or the highest level, the kind of instruction that is being provided will allow them to be brought up to the required level, so that they can at least leave with an associate degree,” she noted.

 

Dr. McLean was addressing the National College for Education Leadership (NCEL)/National Council on Education (NCE) training workshop for principals and Board chairs held at the Melia Braco Village in Trelawny on Monday (March 12).

 

She noted that, traditionally, secondary students who move into grades 12 and 13 are required to do the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and earn four units for each of the two respective grades.

 

She said that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is reconfiguring the units at grades 12 and 13 to enable students to attain at least 60 credits as specified by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) in order to earn that associate degree.

 

“So, that is a decision that has been taken and developed by the Caribbean Examinations Council. So all students that are doing CAPE can now have the opportunity to leave with an associate degree, which is two years of college education,” Dr. McLean stressed.

 

The NCE/NCEL training programme was designed to equip principals and Board chairs with the skills needed to effectively influence and guide the strategic direction of their respective schools; increase awareness of the legal and regulatory framework governing public educational institutions; and empower school Boards to effectively interrogate and navigate the various issues.

 

New handbooks for school Boards were also distributed to those in attendance.

 

CAPTION: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean (second left), peruses the new handbook for school Boards at a training workshop for principals and Board chairs hosted by the National College for Education Leadership (NCEL)/National Council on Education (NCE) at the Melia Braco Village in Trelawny on Monday (March 12). Others (from left) are Executive Director of the NCE, Merris Murray; Chairman of the Teachers’ Services Commission and Custos of St. James, Conrad Pitkin; and Director and Principal of NCEL, Dr. Taneisha Ingleton.

 

JIS: A pilot foster care project will be undertaken over the next year as the Government moves to place more children under State care in stable family settings.

 

The pilot is part of a three-year programme between the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) and Family Life Ministries (FLM).

 

Under the initiative, dubbed ‘For the Child Foster Care Programme’, the FLM will identify, recruit, assess, engage and notify the CPFSA of prospective foster families for processing.

 

Both entities signed a Service Agreement to solidify the partnership during a ceremony at FLM’s Cecelio Avenue offices in St. Andrew on Tuesday (March 5).

 

State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, welcomed the partnership noting that it is “a key step forward in the progress being implemented in Jamaica for the care and protection of our children”.

 

“This collaboration, I believe, will be the beginning of a significant move of children from State care facilities into homes with loving parents, who will not just care for them emotionally, physically but [also] ensure that their psychological needs are met; in particular to build their self-confidence and their self-esteem, their self-worth and their sense of value,” he said.

 

Chief Executive Officer of the FLM, Dr. Barry Davidson, explained that under the arrangement, the entity will be seeking “devoted, Christian families to help us show love, care, [and] compassion for children who are in State care”.

 

“FLM would like to bridge the gap between the challenges that we are facing in our society with so many children who are neglected, who are not cared for and who need our help. Our solution is to provide therapeutic family homes for these children,” he said.

 

Dr. Davidson said the FLM will be recruiting parents from churches, who will then be screened to ensure that they are suitable in all aspects of parenting. The selected parents will then be trained “to become the kind of parents who would be very effective in caring for these children,” he noted.

 

“We will be engaging in a matching programme where we will be matching these parents to children from CPFSA. Once a child has been properly matched, we will assist the parent to provide ongoing care for these children by providing them with ongoing supervision, counselling, and support for the family,” he added.

 

For CEO of the CPFSA, Rosalee Gage-Grey, the agreement is historic, as it marks Jamaica’s first model public-private partnership in foster care.

 

“This concept has been very effective in First-World countries such as Canada, in particular Nairn Family Homes, a premier foster care institution with over 45 years of experience,” she said.

 

Mrs. Gage-Grey noted that there are close to 4,500 children in the care of the State. More than 900 of these children are in foster care placement with over 800 foster parents.

 

“Our aim is to recruit more families to open their homes and hearts. This is what will be achieved through this public-private partnership to drive the recruitment, service delivery, management and treatment programmes for children,” she said.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge (seated, centre), affixes his signature to a Service Agreement between Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) and Family Life Ministries (FLM), for a pilot foster care project. Waiting to sign are Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FLM, Dr. Barry Davidson (seated left); and CEO of CPFSA, Rosalee Gage-Grey (seated right). Overseeing the process (in the background are FLM Board Members, Arnold Aiken; and Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan. The signing took place at the FLM’s Cecelio Avenue offices in St. Andrew on Tuesday (March 5).

JIS: The employed workforce is to be trained and certified, free of cost, under an up- skilling programme to be launched by the HEART Trust/NTA at the end of April, says Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.

 

Speaking at a contract signing ceremony between the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the HEART Trust/NTA to train ancillary workers in schools, at JSIF’s headquarters, in Kingston, on March 7, Senator Reid said the Ministry has been examining a programme of this nature for some time, as a “significant percentage of our workforce have no formal training and certification.”

 

“We have been looking at the Indian model and they have developed a good one, which is called – Recognition of Prior Learning. I want the Jamaican workforce to be trained and certified,” the Minister emphasised.

 

Recognition of Prior Learning or Prior Learning Assessment is an internationally recognised system, which allows for the identification, documentation, assessment and recognition of prior learning experiences.

 

It allows tertiary institutions, adult learning centres and career development practitioners to determine whether an applicant, who does not meet the normal matriculation requirements, possesses the competencies that are required to enter a university course of study.

 

Under the JSIF’s Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP) Schools Ancillary Workers Project, a total of 240 persons from across 40 schools in Jamaica will be trained by the HEART Trust in various skills, including food safety, nutrition, water sanitation and hygiene, customer service, safety and security, plant maintenance and landscaping.

 

The project is valued at $10.8 million and will last from April 2019 to March 2020. It is aimed at supporting Ministries, Departments and Agencies in developing and building the human capital within communities.

 

The project will also enhance the quality of service delivery and the standards established for this important cohort of individuals who operate within schools and communities.

 

Senator Reid said the project fits neatly into his own vision for having Jamaica’s workforce trained and certified.

 

Meanwhile, Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said partnerships between his organisation and HEART Trust/NTA span its inception.

 

Together, both agencies have collaborated to build community and training centres, he recalled.

 

Mr. Sweeney noted that JSIF’s contribution to education is in excess of 40 per cent of total investments made over the last 23 years, and include support for building schools and sporting facilities and erecting fences.

 

Since 2014, the ICDP has resulted in a total of 692 persons being trained.

 

For his part, Chairman of the HEART Trust/NTA, Edward Gabbidon, described the partnership as “worthwhile,” as it will ensure that ancillary members are “fulfilled and focused and will be given a sense of worth.”

 

“HEART has been investing in, and looking for partnerships of this sort and it is part of our mandate, because we cannot do it by ourselves. We are looking for those members in Government and in the private sector,” he said.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (second right), speaks to HEART Trust/NTA Chairman, Edward Gabbidon (right), at a contract signing ceremony between the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the HEART Trust/NTA to train ancillary workers in schools, at JSIF’s headquarters, in Kingston, on March 7. Also sharing in the dialogue are (from left): General Manager of Technical Services at JSIF, Loy Malcolm, and JSIF Managing Director, Omar Sweeney.

JIS: The Rock River Primary School in Clarendon now has a fully equipped learning centre, which will serve the needs of students as well as the wider community.

 

The $10-million facility houses a library and computer room outfitted with laptop and desktop computers, multimedia projector, teaching equipment and learning aids.

 

It was built through funding from the Japanese Government under its Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security initiative, with support from the Rock River Foundation.

 

A broad objective of the project is to provide a safe and conducive teaching and learning environment that caters to all levels of learners, from the gifted to the academically challenged. It will offer training programmes and Internet access to residents.

 

The National Education Trust (NET), which acts as the implementing authority for education infrastructure projects funded by the international donor community, provided oversight, coordination and technical support for the construction of the learning centre.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, in his remarks at the recent opening, urged the school administrators and community to protect the investment.

 

“Make sure that our children have the benefit of these facilities to maximise their learning,” he said.

 

Principal of the school, Nadine Raymond-Sharpe, told JIS News that the centre currently offers courses in numeracy and literacy in conjunction with the HEART Trust/NTA, with more training offerings to come on stream in short order.

 

She said that the facility, which is open to residents in and around Rock River, will play a key role in “equipping persons with the 21st Century skills that will enable them to compete locally and internationally”.

 

“We will cherish it because we want this to be a lifelong opportunity for the community,” she added.

 

Deputy Head Girl at the school, Nasheema Rhoden, said that the students welcome the new facility.

 

“We can use the Internet and learn about more things, and it can also widen our knowledge, and we can learn more about the world,” she tells JIS News.

 

Fellow student, André Lewis, agreed, pledging that “we will be using it for things that are good”.

 

Parent, Marcia Williams- Burrell, for her part, said that the learning centre is “vital to the community, because it will enable children to become more advanced where computer literacy is concerned”.

 

She urged residents to come out and utilise the facility. “Make use of it and help us to keep it in good condition, so it can go on from generation to generation”.

 

Head of the Rock River Foundation, Dr. Paul McLeod, noted that the development of the centre has provided an opportunity “to change lives”, while Director for Donor and Partnership Management at NET, Latoya Harris, encouraged the school community to take ownership of the investment.

 

“Maintain it and keep it, and improve upon it for the future,” Ms. Harris added.

 

Japan’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency, Hiromasa Yamazaki, said that his Government welcomes the opportunity to support an education programme that will benefit an entire community.

 

Ten schools in Jamaica have benefited from the Japan Grassroots Project, which provides financial assistance to small-scale development initiatives in developing countries.

 

The programme “focuses on the protection and empowerment of the most vulnerable citizens,” the Ambassador noted.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (centre); State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (left), and Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency, Hiromasa Yamazaki, observe the performance of students of the Rock River Primary School, at the recent official opening of a learning centre at the Clarendon-based institution. 

JIS: The Government has increased allocation to the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), which will expand support for students at various levels of the education system.

 

This was disclosed by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, as he opened the 2019/20 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 7.

 

He said that an additional $347 million has been provided to the School Feeding Programme for children at the early childhood level.

 

The additional amount boosts the total allocation for school feeding to $5.1 billion, up from $4.8 billion in 2018/19, representing a seven per cent increase.

 

In addition, a further $200 million has been provided to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information under the Examination Fees Assistance Programme to support payment for four additional subjects for PATH secondary level students sitting exit Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

 

This represents a 50 per cent increase from $400 million to $600 million.

 

A sum of $380 million has also been provided to the Ministry to support the provision of transportation grants to schools.

 

Dr. Clarke noted that the objective is to significantly reduce the transportation costs for 7,500 students, who are registered beneficiaries of PATH, and are attending 94 public schools across Jamaica.

 

“This increases the allocation for PATH transportation by $180 million or 90 per cent from $200 million in financial year 2017/18 to $380 million in financial year 2019/20,” he said.

 

A sum of $562 million is included in the budget to support retention of the PATH back-to-school grant, which was first introduced in August 2018.

 

“The benefit will be institutionalised under PATH and payments made once per year in August at the start of the new school year,” Dr. Clarke explained.

 

He said that the additional budgetary allocations, along with an average 16.4 per cent increase in PATH cash grants with effect from June 2019, “represent protection of the vulnerable in action.”

 

CAPTION: Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, announces the Revenue Measures for the financial year 2019/20, as he opens the 2019/20 Budget debate in the House of Representatives on March 7. Seated from left are: Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw and Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Fayval Williams.