JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is the most practical avenue for acquiring readily employable skills for the world of work.

 

Addressing the fifth staging of the National TVET Quality Awards for Secondary Schools at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in New Kingston, on September 14, Senator Reid said Jamaica and the wider world need skilled and competent workers to fill skill gaps in various sectors.

 

Some of the sectors include: building and construction, power and energy plants, water distribution and sanitation systems, hospitality and agro-processing.

 

“In addition, we need highly-skilled technical personnel to drive the agenda of transforming our economy through value-addition to primary commodities, and natural resources,” the Minister said.

 

Senator Reid argued that a well developed and functioning TVET system is best placed to train the skilled workforce which Jamaica needs to address its socio-economic development challenges.

 

To this end, he said the Ministry will continually strive to improve the relevance and quality of training, integrate ICT into TVET, and ensure flexibility of training and life-long learning in TVET provision.

 

The Minister lauded the work and contribution of teachers and students in the technical and vocational areas.

 

Senator Reid said the Ministry’s policy will continue to encourage the alignment of skills development and training delivery with industry priorities.

 

“We are on the cusp of great things happening in the TVET sector. The awards you are receiving today should encourage and inspire you to aim higher. There is so much more that you can do,” he told the awardees.

 

The National TVET Quality Awards initiative was implemented to promote technical and vocational education at the secondary level.

 

It is specially aimed at encouraging creativity and highlighting achievements among teachers and students.

 

The top awards went to Steer Town Academy for the TVET Project of the Year; Lewisville High for the Best Kept TVET Laboratory; Holmwood Technical High, Innovation in Science Award; Tarrant High School, STEM Challenge Award, while Dennae Mills copped the Best TVET Student award, and Karla Boswell Lewis received the Best TVET Teacher award.

 

Associate Teaching Fellow at the Mona School of Business and Management and former Executive Director, HEART Trust/NTA, Robert Gregory received the TVET Pioneer Award.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, speaks at the national technical and vocational education and training (TVET) Quality Awards ceremony for Secondary Schools, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on September 14.

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says an Education Management Information System (EMIS) is being developed that will provide a more detailed, data-driven profile of students.

 

He said that the EMIS will be supported by information from the National Student Registration System (NSRS) implemented in 2010 to capture biographical and other data on all students entering grade one.

 

Minister Reid said that with the EMIS, “you will now have an information management system and biodata on students, which will also dovetail into the Child Health and Development Passport, because what we really need is to know very early, the status of the students”.

 

“The same way you have immunisation data to know how healthy the child is, you also want to know how ready they are for the education system and if they have special needs,” he added.

 

Minister Reid was speaking with JIS News at a Regional Data Security Conference held on September 13 at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

 

He explained that EMIS will provide a complete profile of the child as soon as they enter the education system.

 

“For example, do they need special support? Information like that will enable us to track them, intervene and give special support where necessary, so a child that has physical disability, the data will tell you about that child and inform of which school to place them,” he told JIS News.

 

“We are going to collect more detailed information, so that the system develops a profile of the student, not just to say that you are registered but enable better planning and management within the system,” he added.

 

Held under the theme ‘Your Data Your Rights; What Individuals and Companies Should Know’, the Regional Data Security Conference was organised by the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Jamaica in association with one of its member companies, e-Biz Pro Train.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), shares a light moment with Facebook Privacy and Public Policy Manager for Latin America, Paula Vargas, at a Regional Data Security Conference on September 13 at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, is urging all stakeholders to come together to ensure the success of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

 

He said it is important that the new assessment “is given the chance to succeed.”

 

“This is a new system and there will inevitably be things to iron out. However, together we can address these in a spirit of cooperation and partnership. So while it is (the Ministry’s) responsibility to ensure that implementation of…PEP is successful, as stakeholders, we all must collaborate to achieve the desired outcomes,” he said.

 

Senator Reid was addressing a sensitisation and consultation session for teachers at the Brown’s Town Community College, St. Ann on Wednesday (September 12).

 

PEP, which will replace the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) as the national secondary-school entrance test, 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, Ability Test and a Curriculum-based Test. The first sitting of the examination will take place in 2019.

 

Minister Reid said that the Ministry will continue to host teacher sensitisation sessions and workshops across the island in order to ensure a greater degree of comfort with the assessment.

 

He said that acceptance and support of the changes is important in enhancing the teaching-learning process.

 

PEP is part of the implementation of the National Standards Curriculum (NSC), which places emphasis on project-based and problem-solving learning, with science, technology, engineering and mathematics/science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEM/STEAM) integrated at all levels.

 

“During the past year, the Ministry completed the phased implementation of the NSC, which started in 2016 after two years of piloting,” the Minister informed.

 

He noted that more than $200 million was provided to schools to execute the new curriculum.

 

“We have started the distribution of the full curriculum publication to our schools for each teacher. This will be completed by this week,” the Minister indicated.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.

JIS: The Safety and Security Unit of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has been boosted with a US$3 million support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Ministry/USAID Partnership For Safe School project.

 

Through the project, the Unit will increase the number of hand held metal detectors to 500, and walk through scanners to 30 for the 2018-2019 school year. Funding has also been provided for perimeter fencing, installation of cameras, capacity building training as well as support to uniformed groups.

 

Addressing a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (September 13), Director of the Unit, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Coleridge Minto, said that through the partnership, more than 300 students from across the island also benefited from a special therapeutic behaviour modification camp, held in July under the theme: ‘Chance, Choice and Change’.

 

He explained that the Ministry’s prime objective is to implement the necessary measures to transform schools and their immediate surroundings into safe zones through a multi-layered and multi-sectoral approach, utilizing both public and private partnerships, supported by legislation and policies where necessary.

 

According to ASP Minto, the Ministry’s position in treating safety and security in school should be seen as a holistic approach and not left up to an individual.

 

“As a consequence, the Ministry has mandated that a Security and Safety Committee be established in each school. This committee comprises both internal and external partners who should develop and implement a security and safety plan,” he said.

 

The Ministry has completed the procurement, printing and distribution of 6,000 Safety and Security Manuals and have begun distribution to the schools.

 

The Safe School Policy involves a paradigm shift in the area of student behaviour and discipline. It emphasizes prevention and early intervention strategies in dealing with the social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties experienced by some students.

 

 CAPTION: Assistant Superintendent of Police, Coleridge Minto, Director of the Safety and Security Unit of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, addresses a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (September 13).

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says literacy is more than reading and writing, noting that it is a tool for social and economic empowerment.

 

“When citizens are literate, it places the country in a better position to address complex issues,” Senator Reid said, adding that it enables individuals to respond in creative ways to challenges, and the building of their communities.

 

The Minister’s remarks were delivered by Acting Senior Education Officer, Andrew Francis, at an International Literacy Day celebration at the Pembroke Hall Primary School, St. Andrew on Friday (September 7).

 

Senator Reid said the Government continues to recognise the value of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) observance, and places great emphasis on literacy, as “we are fully aware of its impact on the lives of our children.”

 

He noted that empirical evidence shows a positive correlation between strong literacy skills and the overall health and standard of living of citizens.

 

The Minister said that over the years the Jamaican society has evolved into one that depends “heavily on highly-skilled citizens, to fill critical positions, and to enable economic advancements.”

 

Regional Director at the Ministry and guest speaker at the event, Dr. Kasan Troupe, said the day’s activities highlight the importance of a literate society in advancing the education agenda.

 

“We want you to be creative, to learn, to be collaborative and to communicate,” she told the students.

 

She said that the Ministry continues to implement measures to improve student outcome, and encouraged them to take advantage of the educational opportunities being provided.

 

“You have the capacity to excel and be the best,” Dr. Troupe said.

 

International Literacy Day, observed annually on September 8, provides an opportunity for governments, civil society and stakeholders to highlight improvements in world literacy rates, and reflect on the world’s literacy challenges.

 

 

 

JIS: The Red Hills Skills Training Centre in St. Andrew has been renovated at a cost of $3 million and will now offer unattached youth four skill-based courses through partnership with the HEART Trust/NTA.

 

The refurbishing was undertaken through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which provides members of Parliament with financial resources to execute approved social and economic programmes within their constituencies.

 

The four courses that will be offered are Electrical Installation, Webpage Design, House Keeping and Customer Engagement Operation (Business Process Outsourcing).

 

Member of Parliament for St. Andrew West Rural, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, in her remarks at the reopening on Thursday (September 6), said the facility will enable young people to receive skills training and certification in order to become employable.

 

She informed that 150 students in St. Andrew West Rural have benefited from tuition grants to pursue higher education through the CDF.

 

Acting Senior Manager of Special Projects and Community Training, HEART Trust/NTA, Elizabeth Danvers, informed that Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) classes in mathematics and English language will also be offered at the centre.

 

Based on assessment, students will be encouraged to do another course for their personal development.

 

“These courses will be offered through the National Unattached Youth Programme. We are looking [at] and anticipating future partnerships [and] we hope this facility will be fully utilised in the years to come,” Ms. Danvers said.

 

She indicated that orientation for classes will be held on September 11 at the nearby Red Hills Methodist Church and is appealing for unattached youth to attend and register for courses.

 

She encouraged residents to  “spread the word to your friends, persons you see sitting on the street [and] not doing anything. Encourage them to be a part of this wonderful facility”.

 

CAPTION: Member of Parliament, St. Andrew West Rural, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn (fourth right), is assisted by Director, Constituency Development Fund, Kedesha Campbell (third right); Councillor, Red Hills Division, Rohan Hall (left); and Parish Manager, Social Development Commission, Sandra Goulbourne (second left) in unveiling the new sign for the renovated Red Hills Skills Training Centre, at the official reopning on Thursday (September 6). Also sharing in the moment were Custos Rotulorum for the parish of St. Andrew, Dr. Patricia Dunwell (second right) and President, Community Development Committee, Janice Lewis.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has established two ‘Time Out’ facilities to assist in the rehabilitation of students who exhibit behavioural problems.

 

The centres were opened this month at Alpha Boys’ School in Kingston and St. John Boscoe Boys’ Home in Mandeville, Manchester.

 

Chief Education Officer in the Ministry, Dr. Grace McLean, has said that 12 other similar facilities are to be opened across the island.

 

She was speaking to leaders and educators of independent and private institutions on the new National Standards Curriculum (NSC) and the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) at a sensitisation session on September 5, held at Jamaica College in Kingston.

 

“These are facilities that will support the children by providing psychosocial, psychological and psychiatric support that is required to ensure that they can be fully rehabilitated and go back to join their peers. What our time-out facilities/retreat centres do is allow them to go through a process of rehabilitation,” she explained.

 

The facilities are part of several measures being implemented by the Ministry to treat with the needs of students.

 

Dr. McLean noted that one of the measures in the rehabilitation process is the Ministry’s ‘K-13’ strategy, which provides opportunities for all students to participate and learn.

 

The ‘K-13’ strategy seeks to ensure that the education system reaches every child from conception to age 18 to facilitate proper stimulation and engagement.

 

Additionally, she said the Ministry will be working with schools to involve them in the rehabilitation of these children.

 

“We are currently working through the process that the teachers and the principals are using, so that the process aligns with the Ministry’s strategy of providing equal opportunity and equity for every single child,” she said.

 

CAPTION: Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean (left), discussing Primary Exit Profile (PEP) documents with Principal of Hosanna Preparatory School, Montego Bay, Doreth Chambers, during a sensitisation session with leaders and educators of independent and private institutions on the new National Standards Curriculum (NSC) and the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), on September 5 at Jamaica College in Kingston.

JIS: Students and staff at the Runaway Bay All-Age School in St. Ann started the new school year on Monday (September 3) in more spacious surroundings.

 

Food For the Poor, through partnership with 13-year\-old donor Rafe Cochran, constructed two new blocks at the school, comprising six classrooms, bathrooms and an office area.

 

The youngster, who hails from South Florida, contributed the proceeds from his annual Rafe Cochran Golf Classic for the school expansion project.

 

School Principal, Lambert Pearson, in expressing gratitude, said the new buildings have provided improved accommodation for the institution’s 400 students.

 

“This, most certainly, will improve our conditions for learning, and I’m sure that our performance will continue to grow,” Mr. Pearson said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 31.

 

For her part, Director of Recipient Services at Food For the Poor Jamaica, Susan Moore, noted that the modern facilities provided will not only improve the school’s physical environment, but also enhance learning.

 

“At Food For the Poor, we are certainly aware of the interaction between the physical spaces and the learning environment,” she outlined.

 

“The building alone cannot infuse the passion and vision that guides the school’s development; it’s the human spirit and interaction between the teachers and the students that will make the difference and ensure the new building supports a higher level of learning,” she pointed out.

 

Ms. Moore thanked Rafe for partnering with Food For the Poor Jamaica on this “well-needed project”.

 

Rafe has been supporting the work of Food For the Poor in Jamaica through his annual golf classic, which he organised with the help of his parents, Jay and Diahann Cochran.

 

He told JIS News that his philanthropic efforts stemmed from a visit his grade-three class made to the Food For the Poor headquarters in Florida a few years ago. Since then, he has been working with the charity to erect schools and homes.

 

He said he selected Runaway Bay All-Age this year “because I truly felt the need to help. I felt if these students and teachers had a better building to provide the opportunity of education, it would motivate and help the students achieve their goals”.

Teacher, Nicolette Fisher expressed pleasure about the new additions to the school’s infrastructure. “I think it’s a great initiative, and we have more space; it’s more comfortable, so I am really looking forward to working in the space,” she said.

 

Ms. Fisher noted that with the new classrooms, which will accommodate grades four, five and six students, she expects that the school will continue to excel.

 

Parent Marlene Edwards, shared similar sentiments.

 

“We are very excited about getting these buildings. As a parent, I’m sure that my (two) children will benefit, so we are thankful to Rafe and his family, as well as Food For the Poor (Jamaica), for donating same,” she said.

 

Also expressing gratitude was 11-year-old student, Janelle Spencer, who said she was “so thrilled and thankful to Food For the Poor Jamaica for doing this for Runaway Bay All-Age School. I have been inspired today because a child (Rafe Cochran) really did this. He made this school his project, so I am really inspired”.

 

The 60-year-old Runaway Bay All-Age transitioned from the shift system in 2014, and over the years, has seen steady improvement in the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy examination and the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

 

The school principal informed that in the first year after the shift system ended, there was a 20 per cent increase in the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Test passes and the scores have been trending up for GSAT as well, with passes up 11 per cent. Students are involved in the 4-H movement, reading and math clubs, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) festival competitions, and they do well in football, cricket and athletics.

 

CAPTION: Students from the Runaway Bay All-Age School line up to view the two new classrooms blocks that were constructed by Food For the Poor in collaboration with 13-year old-donor Rafe Cochran. The new classroom blocks were officially handed over to the school’s administration on August 31.

GLEANER: WESTERN BUREAU:

 

Dr Grace McLean, chief education officer in the ministry of education, said primary school teachers and parents, who have not fully grasped the method of teaching the contents of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), will be further engaged in several sensitisation sessions this month.

 

In March this year, the government abandoned the 19-year-old Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), replacing it with PEP, which is designed to develop students into critical thinkers and innovators for the country’s workforce.

 

“Come September 12, we will be kicking off our teachers’ sensitisation session with our minister (Ruel Reid). We will take that right through to the end of September,” McLean told parents and teachers at a sensitisation session at the York Castle High School in Brown’s Town, St Ann last week.

 

“We will actually be meeting with teachers, from all different types of schools, so they can interact with the minister and the team to get further information and clarification [on PEP].”

   

WEEKEND TRAINING

 

She continued, “In addition, come the end of September into October, we will be organising PEP camps, which are going to be held on weekends, because we are cognisant of the fact that parents do work and we don’t want you to take too much time off from work. We will be having these camps in selected area right across the country.

 

“These camps are going to be a little different. The setting will be one where you come with your papers, pens, pencils and computers. We will have small groups going over performance task questions, curriculum-based type questions, abilities type questions and the objectives from the curriculum.”

 

McLean said, “We will show you how it is linked, we will give you an opportunity as parents and as teachers to create your own questions, go through brainstorming questions to understand the approach that you are to use to guide your children at home, as well as for our teachers to guide our students at school. It will not stop there. Once we have the performance task mock assessment result ready, which will be by the second week in September, we will be having coaching sessions with our teachers.”

 

McLean also promised that this week the education ministry will be having the full deployment of literacy and numeracy specialists, as well as technical education officers, who will be at the schools that are in need of the support most to ensure that the PEP implementation gets off to a good start.

 

CAPTION: Dr Grace McLean

GLEANER: As a teacher for more than 20 years and curriculum, instruction and assessment specialist, I am compelled to add my voice to the ongoing discourse on the Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

 

PEP is an achievement assessment and, as such, it includes ALL the various methods for determining the extent to which students are achieving the intended learning outcomes (objectives) of instruction based on the curriculum. The Grade Six Assessment Test (GSAT) was an exam that included only ONE form of assessment (traditional assessment).

 

The shift now with PEP is to move away from lower-order thinking skills to higher-order thinking skills. As such, there is the shift from only traditional assessment to alternative assessment, authentic assessment and performance assessment.

 

Traditional assessment refers to paper-and-pencil test that includes true-false, multiple-choice, matching, interpretive exercise, shot-answer, restricted-response and extended-response (essay).

 

Alternative assessment refers to assessments other than the traditional assessment outlined above, and so it would include authentic and performance assessments.

 

IMPROVED SKILLS

 

Authentic assessment reflects real-life situations and performance assessment requires the students to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills by actually performing a task or set of tasks. So with PEP, there is the shift from assessing knowledge and comprehension (lower-order thinking skills) to assessing application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation (higher-order thinking skills).

 

The National Standards Curriculum (NSC) is geared towards teaching better, which will result in assessing better. So gone are the days now of having an assessment entirely of multiple-choice items. Students are now required to write, supply, construct and produce answers rather than just select, choose, and identify an answer from those given.

 

This new curriculum, which includes a shift in the way teachers teach, will result in students developing critical-thinking skills as required by the new assessment, PEP.

 

PEP will better prepare students for the secondary level, tertiary level, and the world of work.

 

This shift will require more work on the part of the teachers and students, which will result in learning being more meaningful and lasting.

 

If teachers are not ready for this shift, it is saying that they are not properly trained? If this is so, there needs to be a rethinking of how we trained our teachers in this country. The truth is that teachers should be teaching to develop critical thinking in our students from ever since and not teaching to the test, as was the case with the GSAT.

 

I urge all stakeholders, teachers and parents to unite on this great initiative for the success of our students who are our future, so let us teach them better and assess them better.

 

I am also recommending continuous training of our teachers who are implementing the curriculum. Both in-service and pre-service teachers need to be fully equipped to effectively and efficiently deliver the new curriculum (NSC) and assessment (PEP).

 

I recall years ago when there was the Reform of Secondary Education curriculum, there were teacher-trainers assigned to the different regions who would see to the effective implementation of the curriculum. I was one of those teacher-trainers who would visit the schools, observe classes, and conduct workshops/training for the teachers. This is something the Ministry of Education could think of implementing. It is not late to do so.

 

So teachers, parents, other stakeholders, I urge you not to be too anxious or fearful of this shift. I encourage you to read or reread my Letter of the Day titled ‘Bye GSAT, welcome PEP’, which was published in 2012.

 

– Michael-Anthony C. Dobson-Lewis is a teacher and curriculum, instruction and assessment specialist. Email feedback to [email protected] and [email protected]

 

CAPTION: Travaune Fuller looks at his GSAT paper during day one of the exam earlier this year. File