JIS: The draft Special Education Policy, which seeks to provide access and equity in education for all students with special needs, has been submitted for Cabinet approval.

 

Education Officer, Special Education Unit in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Christina Addington, said the policy acknowledges education as a fundamental right of every child.

 

“According to the [2011] Charter of Rights, which we relied on to develop this policy, every child is entitled to publicly funded tuition in a public education institution at the primary level. The policy stipulates that children identified as having a special learning need shall be provided with appropriate special education in the least restrictive environment,” she noted.

 

Mrs. Addington said the policy is focused on the promotion of inclusive education, but acknowledges that some children may be best served in specialised facilities.

 

She noted, for example, that the School for the Deaf provides the best environment for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

 

“That is because that is where the personnel is, that is where the accommodations are to be granted, modification of curriculum, and that is where the student will have all he or she may need to develop at their optimal potential,” she pointed out.

 

Mrs. Addington was speaking at the ‘Reach to Teach’ forum on Deaf Education at the Mona School of Business and Management (North), University of the West Indies (UWI), on Thursday (May 30).

 

The session, hosted by the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD) in collaboration with the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD), brought together key stakeholders from the education and health sectors, business and civil society, to develop strategies for the inclusion of deaf children.

 

Discussions focused on access to primary and tertiary education, as well as vocational training opportunities. Also addressed were gaps in the education and health sectors as well as the social system.

 

Speaking with JIS News, Executive Director, CCCD, Tashi Widmer, highlighted the need for more early detection and intervention services for persons with hearing impairment.

 

“We need audiology services in Jamaica to help to identify children who are deaf or hard of hearing and place them in the correct schools. Right now, Jamaica only has one audiologist for the entire island. This impacts their enrolment in school. We are trying to address that, and we want to see more deaf and hard-of-hearing children having access to quality education,” she said.

 

CAPTION: From left: Jamaican Sign Language Interpreter, Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD), Hughen Spencer; Professor, Speech, Pathology and Audiology, Calvin College, United States of America, Dr. Brian Kreisman; Education Officer, Special Education Unit in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Christina Addington (centre); and Ministry of Health and Wellness official, Dr. Richard Musaazi, pay keen attention to Executive Director, Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD), Tashi Widmer, who is communicating using sign language. The occasion was the ‘Reach to Teach’ forum on Deaf Education on Thursday (May 30), at the Mona School of Business and Management (North), University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Andrew.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has expressed sadness at the passing of former prime minister of Jamaica the Most Honourable Edward Phillip George Seaga.

 

Mr. Seaga’s passing symbolizes the end of an era for the nation as he was crucial in establishing the country’s cultural identity in post-independence Jamaica.  Mr. Seaga was the consummate nation builder, who sought to create social, financial and infrastructure policies that would impact and improve the lives of the people of this country.  He had a vested interested in education and was instrumental in developing alternative pathways to education and skills training. 

 

There is no doubt that despite Mr. Seaga’s many accolades in music, governance, culture, finance and politics, one of his most significant and enduring national creations is the HEART Trust/NTA, which he conceptualized in 1982. This body has cultivated an underdeveloped and underserved sector of the country that is now recognized as a marker for success in the achievement of certain skills, talents and vocational learning.  

 

HEART was the answer to Mr. Seaga’s passionate mission to find a way to reduce unemployment, particularly among the youth, and to provide a lasting solution to a lack of training and development, especially for those who had fallen outside of the formal system.He lived a life that was dedicated to service and love for his country, through a pathway of modernizing Jamaica’s young democracy.

 

Mr. Seaga was last week honoured by the Early Childhood Commission for his contribution to early-childhood development. His legacy is one that has and will continue to shape the greatness of the nation and history will now reflect the scope and depth of his servitude. The Ministry extends its condolences to his immediate and extended family.

 

May his soul rest in peace 

 

JIS: Grade-four students across the island will sit the first official Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Grade Four Performance Task test on May 30 and 31.

 

A release from Acting Chief Education Officer, Winnie Berry, dated May 21, advises that sample questions are available on the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s official PEP website: https://pep.moey.gov.jm for both educators and parents to access.

 

“As the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information continues to support our grade-four students and teachers as they prepare for the sitting of the upcoming Grade Four Performance Task, we utilise this medium [PEP website] to share sample practice questions developed to assess our students’ Literacy and Numeracy competence,” Mrs. Berry said.

 

She also thanked all PEP stakeholders for their continuous commitment to the task of preparing students.

 

“As we continue to work together, as a team, to roll out the full implementation of the assessment component of the National Standards Curriculum, we once again crave your understanding as we work in partnership for the improvement of the system and the benefit of our students,” she said.

 

PEP is the series of tests that have replaced the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) as the national secondary school entrance examination. It is intended to provide a better and more complete profile of students’ academic and critical-thinking capabilities at the end of primary-level education.

 

Students will sit the PEP exams over three years in grades four, five and six. Grad-six students previously sat their Ability Test on February 26 and their Performance Task exams on March 27 and 28.

 

Grade-five students will sit the first PEP Grade Five Performance Task test on June 20.

 

CAPTION: Acting Chief Education Officer, Winnie Berry, delivers a speech on behalf of Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean, at the press launch for the Fourth International Conference on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Caribbean, held at the Regional Headquarters of the University of the West Indies, Mona, on Tuesday (April 30).

JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, has reiterated the Government’s commitment to strengthening its policy and regulatory framework on technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

 

He was speaking at the Fourth International Conference on TVET in the Caribbean at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay on May 22.

 

The Education State Minister said that Jamaica is among the many countries globally that have moved TVET into the mainstream of the education system.

 

“This paradigm shift is driven by the recognition that, over several decades, there has been a disconnect between the skills imparted by national education systems and those demanded by the workplace,” he noted.

 

He said that this disconnect “has been thrown into sharper focus in recent years, with the integration of recent technologies in almost every sphere of professional activities”.

In this regard, he said that the Government has “moved expeditiously to close the gap” on education and training and the world of work, given the potential economic and social benefits to be derived from having a skilled and flexible workforce.

 

“Employers are now demanding that workers for the 21st century must possess knowledge, technical skills, and soft skills to function effectively and be competitive in the workplace.

 

“To attain this level of competitiveness, workers must, therefore, be lifelong learners, who will continue to increase their knowledge and update their skills for upward mobility in the workplace,” Minister Terrelonge said.

 

CAPTION ONE: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon Alando Terrelonge (left), greets Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of the the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Professor Dale Webber. Occasion was the Fourth International Conference on TVET in the Caribbean at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, Montego Bay, on May 22.

CAPTION TWO: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon Alando Terrelonge, speaking at the Fourth International Conference on TVET in the Caribbean at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, Montego Bay, on May 22.

 

 

JIS: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will be increasing expenditure under the X Marks the Spot School Crosswalk Campaign being implemented by the Jamaica National (JN) Foundation.

 

Country Representative, UNICEF Jamaica, Mariko Kagoshima, said that the entity has contributed some $30 million to the road-safety campaign, which was launched at Hazard Primary School in Clarendon last November, and “we are expecting to top up to $100 million”.

 

“So, it is going to be an important investment to address the issue of road safety,” she said, while addressing a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank.

 

Hazard Primary was the first beneficiary under the campaign, which involves the erection of road-safety infrastructure at 18 schools across the island over the next three years.

 

These include signage, bus lay-bys, pedestrian gates, widening and paving of sidewalks, improving drainage, and painting of crosswalks.

 

The objective is to create low-speed zones at or near schools or locations with high incidence or risks for road traffic fatalities.

 

Ms. Kagoshima said that the project has benefited about 1,000 students, to date, and is expected to reach another 5,000 by next year.

 

She said that through participation in the national Labour Day exercise, “we expect to reach thousands and thousands of children with the same aim to keep the roads safe”.

 

UNICEF and JN Foundation are partnering with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport on activities for Labour Day 2019, under the theme ‘Child Safety… It’s you, It’s me, It’s all ah We!’

 

The Ministry has announced four national projects – Fair Prospect Primary School, Portland; Holland Primary School, St. Elizabeth and Barrett Town All-Age/John Rollins Primary in St James.

 

Work at the schools will include the painting of pedestrian crosswalks, installation of signs, construction of chain-link fences, improving entrances, repairing bathrooms, fixing leaking roofs, painting and the de-bushing of the school grounds and entrances.

 

Ms. Kagoshima said that UNICEF is happy to provide support for the national Labour Day projects.

 

“We are happy that this year’s Labour Day can be combined with what we have been promoting. We have been working on the X Marks the Spot to ensure children’s safety to and from school,” she noted.

 

CAPTION: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative, Mariko Kagoshima, speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank held recently at the agency’s head office in Kingston.

JIS: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, says the Government is committed to the training and development of the nation’s teachers.

 

“We are committed to your development, we are committed to working with you. I must underscore that the Ministry continues to provide quality training programmes for teachers and principals, through the National College of Educational Leadership (NCEL),” he stated.

 

He was addressing teachers at the Helen Stills Professional Development Day ceremony, held at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in St. James recently.

 

The event was held under the theme ‘Empowering Educators: Retooling, Innovating, Networking for Sustainable Development’.

 

The State Minister noted that the Government through the NCEL, does not focus solely on the professional advancement of educators, but seeks to ensure that the training given, plays a part in building a sustainable future for the nation.

 

“The concept for educational stability highlights the importance of developing and implementing strategies for reorienting education in schools, as part of the broader process of building a sustainable future for the entire society,” Mr. Terrelonge underscored.

 

“Education for sustainable development therefore empowers people to change the way they think and work towards a sustainable future. There is no sustainable future without the teachers of Jamaica,” he added.

 

The event, which was hosted by the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, is named in recognition of former Knox College Principal, Helen Stills.

 

CAPTION: Students from Barracks Road Primary School in St. James perform during the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) Helen Stills Professional Development Day, held at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in the parish recently.

JIS: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, is encouraging Jamaicans to be more open minded when it comes to learning Spanish as a second language.

 

“Our children are ready, our children want to learn Spanish (and) they are so excited. Our children are naturally curious. They are bright and they want it,” the State Minister told JIS News in an interview.

 

He was responding to a comment by Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of Spain, Victoria Garcia, that more emphasis should be placed on Spanish as a second language, to increase the marketability of Jamaican students.

 

Ms. Garcia was addressing students during the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Region Four’s biennial Day of Excellence (Dia de Excelencia) Primary School Spanish Competition, which was held at the St. John’s Methodist Church Action Centre in St. James, on May 16.

 

Mr. Terrelonge said that parents should not underestimate their children’s ability to learn the language, as they are willing and able to learn Spanish.

 

“I recognise the importance of patois as a dialect and I recognise the importance of English. We are an English speaking country and a patois speaking country as well, but we have to think beyond that. We have to start thinking that we are going to empower more of our young persons by letting them learn a foreign language,” the State Minister said.

 

Mr. Terrelonge emphasised that it is imperative for persons to learn the language, as it is the most common in the region.

 

“With Spanish, we will empower our young persons and we will increase their marketability within the region. English is not the most common language in the region, it is Spanish,” the State Minister informed.

 

“There are over 500 million persons who speak Spanish in the region, so you can imagine the opportunities for trade, scholarships and work,” he added.

 

Mr. Terrelonge said the Ministry has been in discussions with officials from Spain and Cuba and that the Government is working on a policy to address the Spanish curriculum.

 

“We have also had interactions, with the help of the Spanish government, with the Cervantes Institute in Spain and they have brought persons down who have done training programmes with our teachers as well,” he noted.

 

The State Minister said the Government is also seeking to get more educators from Cuba through the ongoing cooperation agreement, under which teachers from Cuba have been assisting the Ministry.

 

“Our Cuban neighbours are very committed. We have an ongoing programme where we get a lot of teachers from Cuba and we want to strengthen those relations to ensure that we get even more teachers, and also more teachers from Spain as well. We are also thinking of establishing greater relations with our partners in Mexico and Colombia, to ensure that we get the best of the region and get more teachers here,” Mr. Terrelonge noted.

The State Minister pointed out that the Government aims to have more Spanish teachers in primary schools by September 2020.

 

Up to August last year, 369 Cuban teachers had been recruited under the agreement, which was signed in 1997.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, addresses teachers at  a function at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, in St. James, recently.  

JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, has reiterated the Government’s commitment to strengthening its policy and regulatory framework on technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

 

He was speaking at the Fourth International Conference on TVET in the Caribbean at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay on May 22.

 

The Education State Minister said that Jamaica is among the many countries globally that have moved TVET into the mainstream of the education system.

 

“This paradigm shift is driven by the recognition that, over several decades, there has been a disconnect between the skills imparted by national education systems and those demanded by the workplace,” he noted.

 

He said that this disconnect “has been thrown into sharper focus in recent years, with the integration of recent technologies in almost every sphere of professional activities”.

In this regard, he said that the Government has “moved expeditiously to close the gap” on education and training and the world of work, given the potential economic and social benefits to be derived from having a skilled and flexible workforce.

 

“Employers are now demanding that workers for the 21st century must possess knowledge, technical skills, and soft skills to function effectively and be competitive in the workplace.

 

“To attain this level of competitiveness, workers must, therefore, be lifelong learners, who will continue to increase their knowledge and update their skills for upward mobility in the workplace,” Minister Terrelonge said.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon Alando Terrelonge (left), greets Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of the the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Professor Dale Webber. Occasion was the Fourth International Conference on TVET in the Caribbean at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, Montego Bay, on May 22.

JIS: Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, with responsibility for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda, says he is working to ensure that every child benefits from early-childhood education.

 

Speaking at the handover ceremony for a $14-million kitchen and canteen at the Middleton Primary School in St. Thomas on May 15, Mr. Samuda said some 100,000 children are entering primary school without exposure to offerings at the early-childhood level, and he will be taking action to stop the practice.

 

“I have given myself an undertaking to invite all the countries that have expressed an interest to assist us, to go one step further and help those students who are not attending pre-primary-level schools because of the inability of their parents to fund it, by underwriting the cost of sending those children to school,” the Minister said.

 

Imploring parents to start their children at the pre-primary level, the Minister said children who do not have the benefit of early-childhood education, for the most part, “have to play catch-up”.

 

“If you start at the basic school, you get a foundation that serves you when you go to the primary school. If you don’t get exposure at the basic school, it means that you will be forever playing catch-up, and the children who are exposed to basic education will be ahead of you,” the Minister argued.

 

Mr. Samuda said every child must have the opportunity to “maximise” his or her potential.

 

“A child’s potential depends on how early, or how intensively they start in the formal education system. There is no limit to what can be achieved, once that is done,” he said, adding that the Ministry, teachers and parents “have a responsibility to expose our infants to the discipline of education”.

 

The kitchen/canteen was constructed with funding from the Japanese government, through their Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Initiative, which provides grants for community development projects across various sectors. Support was also provided by the Government.

Mr. Samuda expressed gratitude to the government of Japan, noting that the gesture was “commendable”.

 

For his part, the Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Hiromasa Yamazaki, said his country’s aim is to support sustainable human development through education and other projects “under this great assistance programme”.

 

Member of Parliament for Western St. Thomas, James Robertson, and Principal of the school, Jennifer Crawford, also expressed their appreciation for the facility.

 

The National Education Trust (NET) coordinated the project.

 

CAPTION: Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, with responsibility for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda (right), unveils plaque to mark the handover of the $14-million kitchen and canteen at the Middleton Primary School, in St. Thomas, on May 15. The facility was constructed with funding from the Japanese government, through their Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security initiative, which provides grants for community development projects across various sectors. Support was also provided by the Government. Sharing the moment (from left) are Principal of the school, Jennifer Crawford; Member of Parliament for Western St. Thomas, James Robertson; and Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Hiromasa Yamazaki.