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.

JIS: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says that the Government is committed to a seven-year programme for the expansion of high-school space across the island.

 

He noted that while a number of institutions have been built and upgraded over the years, more places are needed to meet needs.

 

He was speaking to JIS News following a tour of construction projects at Nain High in St. Elizabeth and New Forest Primary and Junior High in Manchester.

 

Senator Reid noted that a number of primary and junior high schools in the neighbouring parishes have been upgraded to full secondary institutions, and rehabilitation work is under way at Sydney Pagon Academy in St. Elizabeth.

 

In Manchester, new classrooms are being added at Mount St. Joseph Catholic High, a new school will be built at Mile Gully, and Holmwood Technical High will be expanded.

 

Senator Reid said that the Ministry has built 69 classrooms and accompanying amenities in primary and secondary schools across the island, in order to ease overcrowding and take students off the double-shift system.

 

“The plan is to remove all of them (from shift) eventually,” he noted.

 

The Ministry is partnering with the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) to build new classrooms at New Forest Primary and Nain High.

 

Forty-foot containers are being utilised to construct two-storey structures, which are reinforced with concrete walls, slab roofs and concrete flooring.

 

Nain is transitioning into a technical high school and will have new and more modern laboratories, an auditorium, a canteen and proper sports facilities.

 

Minister Reid said that students will have two additional years of secondary education, “so that they will be ready for a more competitive job market which now requires people with higher skill levels”.

 

The CMU has employed the same building technique in the construction of classrooms at Bryce Primary in Manchester and Inswood High in St. Catherine.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left); and Regional Director, Ministry of Education’s Region 5, Dr. Nadine Leachman (right), discuss the new classrooms being built at New Forest Primary and Junior High school in Manchester during a recent tour of the project site. Listening (from second left) are Project Manager, Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Everold Simms; and Principal of the school, Arnaldo Allen

JIS: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, is imploring adolescents to refrain from participating in underage gambling, as this may negatively impact their education.

 

“Your education is the best gift that you can give to yourselves not gambling…Your education is the one thing that will last for the rest of your life. So do not gamble with your education. If you do gamble, you are gambling with your education,” he said.

 

The Minister was speaking at the awards ceremony for RISE Life Management Services’ adolescent gambling prevention all-island jingle competition, held on February 27 at the organisation’s downtown Kingston offices.

 

He noted that gambling can be a gateway to substance abuse, including alcohol and drugs, delinquency in school as well as other antisocial behaviours.

 

Mr. Terrelonge also appealed to stakeholders in the betting and gaming industry to discourage children from gambling.

 

“Don’t allow the young students to come into your institutions and gamble away their lunch money… . Don’t allow our children to gamble their education away,” he urged.

 

He lauded RISE Life Management Services and its partners for staging the jingle competition, which seeks to create awareness about the dangers of indulging in underage gambling.

 

The entity’s Executive Director, Sonita Abrahams Burrows, said that since 2017, 4,000 youth have been sensitised about the consequences of underage gambling.

 

“This year, we have increased our target to some 16,000 students across Jamaica,” she noted.

 

Grade-five student of Holy Family Primary School in Kingston, Malique Brown copped first place for his jingle, walking away with a cash prize of $50,000.

 

The duo of Jahiem Jackson and Ackeem Johnson from Gaynstead High School in Kingston received the second-place cash prize of $30,000, while grade-nine student of Ferncourt High School in St. Ann, Vernando Bailey, received the third-place prize of $20,000. The jingles will be professionally produced for airplay.

 

Some $176,000 in cash prizes was awarded to shortlisted participants, as well as trophies and medals.

 

The competition was open to school-based youth at the primary and secondary levels, who were asked to make submissions under the theme ‘Underage Gambling Will Lead to Disaster; Focus on Education and Be Your Own Master’.

 

The annual initiative seeks to eliminate underage gambling by creating greater awareness about the consequences among stakeholders. It is illegal for persons under the age of 18 to gamble.

 

RISE Life Management Services operates the only gambling-prevention, treatment research and responsible gaming programme in the Caribbean.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge (second right), presents Holy Family Primary School student, Malique Brown, with the winner’s trophy in RISE Life Management Services’ adolescent gambling-prevention jingle competition. The awards ceremony was held on February 27 at the entity’s downtown Kingston offices. Sharing the moment are Vice President of Marketing, Communication and Sponsorship, Supreme Ventures Limited, Gail Abrahams (second left); and Executive Director of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), Vitus Evans.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is to carry out infrastructural upgrade of four St. Ann-based Primary and Infant schools.

 

Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, told JIS News that the upgrading work forms part of the Ministry’s national infrastructure development programme, adding that the Government remains committed to tackling the infrastructural needs of schools across the country.

 

The schools to benefit are Philadelphia All-Age, Lower Buxton Primary and Infant, Keith Primary and Infant, and Hoolebury Primary and Infant. Senator Reid visited the schools on February 26.

 

“We indicated to them where we are in the process in terms of ensuring that their facilities are improved. We are looking especially at their infant/early childhood department to make sure that they are up to standard. Many schools require upgrades in terms of their grounds. So, there will be some amount of paving done,” Senator Reid said.

 

The Minister further noted that the establishment of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure is also in the pipeline for the schools.

 

“Philadelphia, for example, they have some challenges with the Internet. We have to provide ICT solutions that are offline… updating data on tablets and so on. So, that will be something that we want to look at,” he noted.

 

“Lower Buxton Primary is a large facility, but there are still some infrastructure needs there. There’s an ICT lab that needs to be established, so we will be partnering with them on that. Keith Primary as well. There is an unfinished building that needs to be completed. The grounds need upgrading, so that will be part of our programme of infrastructure improvement,” the Minister added.

 

As it relates to cost, Senator Reid said the Regional Office has been asked to update the Ministry so that the requisite allocations can be made.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon Ruel Reid (right), is greeted by Principal of Hoolebury Primary School in Runaway Bay, St. Ann, Leon Lamont, during a visit on February 26.

JIS: The Care Bear Early Childhood Development Centre on Waltham Park Road, St. Andrew, has been expanded to better serve the developmental needs of students in the community and surrounding areas.

 

Through $12 million in funding from the Government of Japan, under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project, an additional building was constructed on the school grounds to house three classrooms, a nursery, a storeroom, kitchen and two bathrooms.

 

At the official handover ceremony on Tuesday (February 26), Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica, His Excellency Hiromasa Yamazaki, gave his Government’s continued commitment to providing support to Jamaica in the area of education.

 

“Investing in education at the infant, primary, secondary or tertiary level is critical for the overall development of a country and its people. Therefore, Japan’s cooperation towards grassroots interventions, I believe, has a critical role in laying the foundation for long-term sustainable development and growth within the field of education and other productive sectors of Jamaica,” he said.

 

The Ambassador said the objective is to enable the Jamaican people to enjoy greater opportunities through good quality education.

 

Deputy Chief Education Officer, Dasmine Kennedy, thanked the Japanese Government for the support to the country’s education system.

 

“There can be no development without education… . I thank the Japanese government for partnering with us to build our people and develop our country,” she said.

 

Principal of the institution, Cynthia Roach-Porter, in expressing gratitude to the Japanese Government, noted that the expansion project has assisted in alleviating overcrowding at the school.

 

She noted that it will also enable the institution to become certified by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC).

 

CAPTION: Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica, His Excellency Hiromasa Yamazaki (right); Principal of Care Bear Early Childhood Development Centre, Cynthia Roach-Porter (left); and Deputy Chief Education Officer, Dasmine Kennedy, cut the ribbon to officially open a new building at the institution located on Waltham Road in St. Andrew on Tuesday (February 26). The project was undertaken through $12 million in funding from the Government of Japan.

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, is reporting a successful administration of the first sitting of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination.

 

The Minister and a high-level team from the Ministry visited several schools in St. Ann on Tuesday (February 26) to get a first-hand view of the administration of the Ability component of the examination, which has replaced the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

 

Senator Reid also offered words of encouragement to the first cohort of grade-six students to sit the examination, and also got feedback about their handling of the test.

 

“Today (February 26) is the historic first sitting of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), and so it would have been expectant of me to visit a number of schools at random to see how ready and prepared the system was for the first sitting, and how the students would have performed in this first sitting,” the Minister told journalists.

 

“I am very impressed, very proud of my team at the Ministry of Education, the principals and the teachers. All the schools have been well prepared. Students are very confident and, overall, I think Jamaica can be very proud,” Senator Reid added.

 

He reiterated that the Ministry pulled out all the stops to ensure that students and teachers were adequately prepared for the examination, with adequate resources being dispatched to primary-level institutions to boost preparedness.

 

“The Ministry went all out to ensure that all the issues, all the needs, all the fears that persons may have had, we attended to those. It speaks to how we as a people, once we have an objective to be achieved, if we just come together and work in partnership in the interest of our children and in the interest of Jamaica, the country will be a much better place,” Senator Reid said.

 

He further noted that the Ministry received no report of mishaps throughout the administration of the examination.

 

“We have received no reports of any glitches. Not on our side. We have had one or two reports of students being late in terms of getting to their centre, but it is not a system problem that we would have encountered,” the Minister informed.

 

In the meantime, Principal of the Hoolebury Primary School in Scarlett Hall, Runaway Bay, St. Ann, Leon Lamont, told JIS News that the students were adequately prepared for PEP, and reported no glitches in the administration of the examination.

Mr. Lamont, whose son also sat the examination, said his students expressed confidence in their performance in the examination.

 

“As a principal and parent, I had a concern regarding the initial staging of the examination. I was a bit worried that it would have been harder than the students could manage, but again, with the resources put in place by our Minister (Senator Ruel Reid), and with the examination coming to completion today (February 26), my son said the examination was easy and everyone who came out said it was easy or manageable,” Mr. Lamont said.

 

Over 40,000 students were registered to sit the examination at 1,104 centres across the country.

 

The performance tasks – Language Arts and Mathematics – will be administered on March 27 and 28, respectively, while the final component of the assessment – the curriculum tests, to include Language Arts, Science, Mathematics and Social Studies – are slated for April 16 and 17.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon Ruel Reid, celebrates with students of Hoolebury Primary School, Scarlett Hall, Runaway Bay, St. Ann, following their completion of the first sitting of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Examination, during a visit to the institution on February 26.

JIS: Students, parents, principals and educators have given positive feedback about the Grade Six Ability Test, which is the first in a series of tests for the new Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination that was administered on Tuesday (February 26).

 

The Ability Test measures students’ ability to reason with words and quantities (quantitative and verbal reasoning). It represents 30 per cent of students’ profile. This test consisted of 40 single select multiple-choice items.

 

Grade-six teacher, Kingsway Prep School in St. Andrew, Mrs. Neisha Palmer-Murray, said her 29 students gave positive responses about the Ability Test after sitting the exam.

 

“They said it was relatively manageable. They said most of the questions were at their comfort level,” she told JIS News.

 

Principal, Iris Gelly Primary School, in Kingston, Mrs. Veronica Gaynor, had a similar response.

 

“Many of the students said it was manageable. They say the first part was manageable, but the last part was challenging. They were very apprehensive. We had a hard time getting them to settle down. The teachers were also apprehensive, but once they got settled, things flowed. What helped was that it was not a written exam, but a multiple choice,” Mrs. Gaynor said.

 

Principal, Jack’s Hill Primary School, Duane Forbes, said the seven students from his school, located in upper St. Andrew, found the exam manageable.

 

“My students said that the exam was not that challenging. They expected it to be more challenging. The work that they got in class [to prepare for the exam] was more challenging they said,” the principal told JIS News.

 

These students sat their examination at New Day Primary School in the inner-city community of Grants Pen, which is close to the school.

 

Principal, Mona Heights Primary School, Fabian Mahabeer, also said his students gave positive feedback after sitting the exam.

 

“For the most part, they seemed upbeat. They took it as a normal day of an exam at school,” he said.

 

Principal, St. Jude’s Primary School, Suzanna Ainsworth, told JIS News that her students had nothing but positive feedback.

 

“They said it was manageable. It was not as bad as they thought it would have been. The teachers prepared them well. They [the teachers] stuck to the curriculum. They prepared the students based on the curriculum of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information,” Ms. Ainsworth said.

 

Student, Iris Gelly Primary School, Davieon Stanley, said he is happy the first exam is over and is looking forward to the Performance Task and the Curriculum Based Tests.

 

“I felt happy because it was multiple choice. Some of the questions were very easy. I liked the exam,” Davieon told JIS News.

 

Student, St. Andrew Preparatory School, Sahara Karram, said the exam was manageable.

 

“It was okay. It was not what I expected. They gave most questions that I already studied, but I was expecting it to be very hard,” she said.

 

Students sat the Ability Test in 1,104 centres across the island. The test was administered to students born 2006, 2007 and 2008. The total number of students registered for the 2018/2019 year is 41,423 with 21,548 boys and 19,875 girls.

 

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

 

The upcoming exams for PEP are the Language Arts Performance Task Test on Wednesday, March 27; the Mathematics Performance Task Test on Thursday, March 28; the Language Arts and Science Curriculum Based Test on April 16 and Mathematics Curriculum Based Test on April 17.

 

CAPTION: Grade-six students at Jessie Ripoll Primary School in Kingston revising before the start of the first Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination on Tuesday (February 26).