The Ministry of Education and Youth is reporting that 902 of the island’s 1,009 schools will be ready for the start of the 2024/25 academic year on September 2, in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the disclosure during a press briefing at the Ministry’s National Heroes Circle offices in Kingston on Monday (August 26).

“For the ones that are in priority one, that would have gotten their roof damage, that’s 107, and we have been monitoring the progress there. As of Friday, I think we’re confident on about… 90 of those, given where the work is; and for those for which we are seeing there might be delay, we’re asking our Principals to help us with the contingency plan,” Mrs. Williams said.

She noted that a contingency plan could include the use of temporary tents or church halls.

Mrs. Williams further stated that due to the magnitude of the destruction of some of the institutions, work will continue while schools are in session.

“Things will not be picture perfect. [But I] also want persons to remember that there are 139 schools on the priority-two list that suffered damage; but it was determined that those schools can operate while the work is going on,” she added.

“If there is a situation in which you can’t use the building, there will be contingency plans in place. We will have to communicate on a school-by-school basis to our parents directly, so that they know exactly what to expect come September 2,” the Minister further stated.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Williams said electricity is being restored to schools across the island, adding that progress is being made at those requiring electrical repairs.

“We will make the rounds with our Principals to find out about electricity, water, internet connectivity and any other issue. All schools are [now] mobilised to do clean-up and prepare… for September 2,” she added.

The Ministry of Education and Youth is reporting that students across Jamaica maintained a high level of performance in the May/June 2024 sitting of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said Unit 1 had 31,783 subject entries of which 30,136 were sat, with a pass rate of 90 per cent.

For Unit 2, of those who sat, there was a pass rate of 91 per cent.

“The CAPE Unit 1 and 2 results for 2024 did not show significant percentage variations from those of 2023, only a difference of about 0.1 per cent in 2024 when compared to the results in 2023 for Unit 1 and for Unit 2, a difference of 0.8 per cent when compared to the results of 2023. However, we did see improvements in 13 subject areas in Unit 1 and 16 subject areas in Unit 2,” Minister Williams explained.

She was addressing Monday’s (August 26) press conference to provide a report on Jamaica’s performance in the May/June 2024 CSEC and CAPE examinations, at the Ministry’s offices in Kingston.

The following CAPE Unit 1 subjects had pass rates of 90 per cent and above: Caribbean Studies – 94 %, Computer Science – 91%, Entrepreneurship – 93%, Environmental Science – 94%, French – 92%, Geography – 99%, Green Engineering – 97%, History – 92%, Information Technology – 91%, Law – 92%, Literatures In English – 95%, Performing Arts –100%, Physical Education and Sport – 96%, Physics – 96%, Sociology – 93%, Spanish – 91% and Tourism –95%.

Meanwhile, pass rates of 90 per cent and above were achieved in the following Unit 2 subjects: Chemistry – 95%, Computer Science – 98%, Digital Media – 96%, Environmental Science – 96%, Food and Nutrition – 95%, French –100%, Geography – 99%, Performing Arts (Dance) –100%, Performing Arts (Drama) –100%, Performing Arts (Music) –100%, Physical Education and Sport – 100%, Physics – 97%, Sociology –97%, Spanish – 100%, and Tourism – 96%.

“I want to say congratulations to all our students who sat their CAPE subjects, and we wish you all the best as you transition to the next stage of your life,” Minister Williams said.

The Ministry of Education and Youth has commenced repairs at schools severely damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the disclosure during a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday (July 31).

A total of 94 schools, which are classified as priority one, are deemed to have been severely damaged due to the hurricane’s impact.

“Almost 44,000 students attend these 94 schools, and we really want to ensure that they are able to access face-to-face school come September 2 [when the 2024/25 academic year starts],” Mrs. Williams stated.

The Minister said schools sustaining moderate damage have been classified as priority two.

“They will require significant repairs, but the scope of that damage suggests that schools can operate while the repairs are being done, and we have 126 of those schools. In priority three [we have institutions with] minor damage, and [those] schools can also operate while the repairs are being done… and we have 109 of those schools,” Mrs. Williams said.

“So, I am taking the time to go through this because we know, come September 2, certainly the press will be out there to see how well we’ve done. I just want to say [that]… for priority two and priority three schools, you may go to those schools and the work has not been done, and that’s because we’re saying that work can go on while schools operate during the course of the school year,” she added.

Mrs. Williams said the Ministry will be utilising the emergency procurement process to effect repairs to schools, adding that meetings have been held with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service on the matter.

“It is important to do this because emergency procurement is not a process that we have employed at the Ministry, at least not since I’ve been there, and so we want it to be guided. We are relying on the emergency procurement guidelines, as detailed in the Handbook of Public Sector Procurement Procedures and in particular the section on procedures for the procurement of goods, general services and works,” she indicated.

“We are guided by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service that this policy is a good policy on which we can stand. So, it allows us to do the emergency procurement for goods, services or works in any circumstance in which the national interest and our national security considerations demand that the procurement be undertaken immediately,” the Minister further stated.

Mrs. Williams noted that where an emergency situation exists, the procuring entity may engage a contractor by means of direct contracting, adding that contractors must be registered, possess a valid tax compliance certificate prior to their award, and the head of the procuring entity shall give approval for the issuing of emergency contracts up to a maximum value of $100 million.

“This approval shall be in writing and shall form part of the procurement record to be kept by the entity; and just [to] note [that] contracts awarded under emergency circumstances shall commence immediately. Failure to execute such contracts within one month of approval will result in automatic reversion to the general procurement provisions. So, you can see we are under significant time pressures here,” she stated.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry also assessed schools for the status of electricity, water and telecommunication services.

To date, a total of 223 schools have not yet been reconnected to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) system, representing approximately 22 per cent of the institutions.

Mrs. Williams said the Ministry has compiled and sent the information within the last two days to Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, to bring to the attention of JPS.

She informed that these schools are located in Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, Manchester and St. Elizabeth.

“We will be meeting with our Board Chairs and Principals again this week because we want our schools to begin to clean up early. We’re asking our Principals to begin no later than Monday, August 12, just in case in the process of the clean-up, items are discovered and need to be replaced or restored; and so, we are asking for this earlier deployment,” Mrs. Williams said.

She assured that the Ministry is committed to working with school Boards and Principals to enable the reopening of schools on Monday, September 2, for the new school year.

Meanwhile, Minister Williams expressed gratitude “to the many teachers and Principals who have been working assiduously already in the restoration efforts at the schools”.

The Ministry of Education and Youth is targeting 193 primary and 55 high schools, which have been identified as underperforming by the National Education Inspectorate (NEI), for special intervention.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Kasan Troupe, in making the disclosure, said that the institutions will receive focused support through the National Summer Academy, which aims to improve literacy and numeracy.

She was speaking at a Transforming Education for National Development (TREND) teacher engagement session held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St. James, on Thursday (June 6).

The summer programme forms part of the Ministry’s effort to provide extended learning opportunities for students requiring additional support to recover from the impact of disruptions to their learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is delivered by a team of technical officers, including numeracy and literacy coaches/specialists.

Targets have been set to increase the grade-four literacy rate from 64.7 per cent last year to 68 per cent this year and 72 per cent in 2025.

For numeracy, the aim is to go from 63.4 per cent last year to 64 per cent this year and 64.5 per cent in 2025.

“I want you on board with us,” Dr. Troupe told the educators at the TREND session.

“We cannot do this without you; it’s not about what you do; it’s about how you make our students feel. We are all in this as a team and we need the team approach to make this work,” she pointed out.

Dr. Troupe, in her address to the teachers, noted the Government’s commitment to addressing their concerns and providing them with the necessary resources to enhance learning outcomes for students.

She cited the Ministry’s response to challenges with lesson planning by developing more than 700 localised lesson plans, which are available on the Ministry’s website.

Moreover, Dr. Troupe indicated that more than $2 billion was invested to provide laptops for teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and significant funding has been provided for educational materials, with some $2 billion spent last year on teaching and learning supplies for schools and another $1 billion allocated this year.

Additionally, she said the Ministry has provided Microsoft Office 365 software licences for teachers at a cost of $89 million per year and 40,000 annually for licences for the Learning Hub platform for grade-four students, thus providing more essential digital education resources in schools.

“This Jamaica education system has never been so resourced,” Dr. Troupe declared.

“We believe in knowledge and the power of knowledge. There is no secret in education; what we know, we want you to know. So, colleagues you are going to TREND with me this year,” she told the educators.

For her part, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Hon. Marsha Smith, called on educators to see themselves as an integral part of the transformation process.

“I want us to personalise TREND for ourselves. We have been saying ‘transforming education for national development’; however, I want us all to take this session today as transforming educators for national development,” Ms. Smith said.

The sensitisation session involved educators from Region three (St. Ann and Trelawny) and Region four (St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland), and included the launch of the social media #HowWeTREND initiative.

President of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association, Tamar McKenzie (second left) and Registrar, Independent Schools Unit in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Sharon Hunt (second right), are joined by various stakeholders at the launch of the Jamaica Independent Schools  Association Preparatory School Champs on Friday, May 31, at the Ministry in Kingston. From left are General Manager of GraceKennedy Insurance, Chaluk Richards; Sts Peter and Paul Preparatory School representatives – students Anya Johnson, Coach Jerome Kirby and student Donovan James; and General Manager of GraceKennedy Mutual Funds, Daniel Thompson.

Students are being urged to resist tobacco amid the pervasive use of vapes or e-cigarettes among youth.

State Minister in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Hon. Marsha Smith, said tobacco usage has the potential to take as many lives as the COVID-19 pandemic did.

She likened the COVID-19 pandemic to tobacco on steroids, as she implored students to find other ways to enjoy recreational time without using tobacco products.

“Every time you see a tobacco product, whether it is the traditional tobacco product or e-cigarettes, I want you to remember what COVID did to the world and say to yourself ‘if COVID did so much to the world and destroyed so many lives and took away so many important people from our lives, it’s the same thing that tobacco is doing right now,” Ms. Smith said.

She was addressing the opening ceremony of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) Youth Forum and Exhibition at Pembroke Hall Primary School in Kingston on Friday (May 31).

It was held under the theme ‘Protecting Children from Tobacco Industry Interference: Tobacco Free Future’.

In her remarks, Acting Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/ World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Jamaica, Dr. Audrey Morris, said it is critical for youths to be empowered, so that they can demand that the tobacco industry seizes from targeting them with harmful products.

Dr. Morris shared that vaping is surging among young people globally, noting that the 2017 World Youth Tobacco Survey revealed that 11.7 per cent of Jamaican students between the ages of 13 and 15 years were using e-cigarettes.

“That was 2017, so by now we think it is more. Use of these devices can seem like fun or seem harmless, but it is risky for your health. It can affect your memory, concentration, learning, self-control, and your mood, so it makes it harder to focus on school and other activities,” she said.

Dr. Morris encouraged students to protect their bodies and their futures by saying no to tobacco.

For her part, Chief Technical Director in the Crime Prevention, Rehabilitation and Inspectorate Policy Division of the Ministry of National Security, Shauna Trowers, said the government is committed to the safety and security of youths, a critical component of which is shielding them from the harmful influences of tobacco.

She shared that students have been increasingly targeted through exploitative marketing tactics, aiming to hook a new generation on harmful products.

“The government has already taken steps to combat this issue and we have created a ban on tobacco advertising on domestic television and radio and there are restrictions on outdoor advertising and brand marketing,” she said.

Ms. Trowers urged students to steer clear of tobacco and choose a healthy and vibrant future.

Students from 17 primary and secondary schools across Jamaica participated in the youth forum and exhibition.

The Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control, Heart Foundation of Jamaica, National Council on Drug Abuse and Jamaica Cancer Society were among the exhibitors.

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, is calling on stakeholders to continue enhancing the collaborative efforts and frameworks to ensure the safety and well-being of all?children and the safe return of those who have gone missing. 

“Our work is far from over. We have had successes in terms of the systems, the processes, the procedures that we put in place, but we want to get to that point where we are reporting that no child is missing, but if they are missing, we find them the same day; that’s where we would love to get to, but I know there is a lot of education needed,” the Minister said. 

Mrs. Williams was speaking at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) ‘Ananda Alert Conference: Strengthening Responses to Missing Children’,?at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, on May 24. 

“We all need to feel a sense of ownership of everybody’s children and to really believe that as adults we have a part to play in protecting all of our children,” she added. 

The Minister emphasised that “we must continue to strengthen our systems, forge new alliances, and adopt innovative approaches to addressing the complex and evolving challenges associated with missing children.?We know that by sharing knowledge and learning from each other, we can?build a?stronger, more resilient framework for protecting our children”.  

She urged Jamaicans to stand up, speak out, and protect the rights of children, and ensure that?every child grows up in a safe and nurturing environment. 

“As we gather here during?Child?Month, under the theme ‘Stand Up, Speak Out, Protect the Rights of Our Children’,?let us be reminded of our collective responsibility to advocate for and protect the rights of our children. The theme resonates deeply with our mission to focus on enhancing our strategies and sharing?best practices to ensure the safety and well-being of all?children and the safe return of those who have gone missing,” the Minister said. 

She expressed gratitude to the CPFSA?for their tireless work?in?safeguarding the country’s most vulnerable children. 

“Whenever a child goes missing, the CPFSA,?through?the National?Children’s?Registry (NCR),?reports and?mobilises?a national response in alliance with the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), media houses, and various government agencies.? These partnerships are vital in ensuring a swift and coordinated?response?to increase the number of children who?are returned?home safely,?and?I?commend every one of you for your dedication and collaboration,” she said. 

Chief Executive Officer, CPFSA, Laurette Adams Thomas, challenged the participants to share the information that they learnt at the function with their colleagues, family members and friends.  

“Gain the necessary child-protection knowledge for yourself and then share it with whom you come in contact,” she said. 

Mrs. Adams Thomas noted that every year there is an average report of approximately 1,000 missing children.  

“Fortunately, and due largely to the Ananda Alert system, the majority of these cases are resolved quickly with children returning safely to their families, but there are still several other instances in which there is no safe or speedy recovery of the missing child,” she said. 

She argued that everyone has a role to play in the prevention and return and recovery of missing children. 

The Ananda Alert Conference facilitates a pivotal regional knowledge exchange on best practices?to strengthen?the responses to missing children. 

The event is held?in observance of?International Missing?Children’s?Day 2024, which is focused on raising awareness about missing children,?emphasising?efforts to locate and reunite them safely, and?providing support to?the families.