JIS: The Dunrobin Primary School in St. Andrew is now better able to accommodate children with disabilities, following the recent installation of a wheelchair ramp under the Government’s Ramps for Schools project.

 

The institution, located at 47A Red Hills Road, has one student on roll who is wheelchair bound.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, said that the Government is committed to providing an inclusive education system whereby all students can have access.

 

“We are not going to stop at the ramps. We are going to make sure our bathroom facilities cater for those with physical disabilities,” he said at the blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony for the amenity this morning (June 5).

 

Senator Reid noted that with the revised special education curriculum and the bolstering of specialised teacher support, the education sector is in a better position to cater for the various needs of children.

 

He said Dunrobin Primary must be an example of excellence and inclusive education.

 

Principal of the school, Noel Watt, expressed gratitude that the institution was selected to benefit under the Ramps for Schools project.

 

Tamara Brown, parent of 11-year-old Alex Fraser, who is the sole physically challenged student at the institution, also voiced her appreciation, noting that it was difficult for her child to get around.

 

She noted that although her son will be leaving Dunrobin Primary for secondary school this year, the ramp will improve the mobility of any other wheelchair-bound student who attends the institution.

 

Ms. Brown told JIS News that the students at the institution have been very kind to her son, who is awaiting his Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) results. “The students love him, I can’t complain; they have been so good to him,” she said.

 

The Government has allocated $50 million for the installation of wheelchair ramps at public educational institutions across the island under the Ramps for Schools project. The initiative, which will run initially for one year, commenced on Labour Day (May 23) with construction works at 18 institutions, including the St. Ann’s Bay Infant School, which was a national Labour Day project.

 

Another 112 schools are being targeted, to bring the total to 130 over the course of the year.

 

Data from the National Education Trust (NET), which is the implementing entity for the project, indicates that of Jamaica’s 971 public infant, primary and high schools, and over 2,000 early-childhood institutions, only 138 primary and high schools are fitted with ramps.

 

CAPTION (MAIN PHOTO): Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), assists student of Dunrobin Primary, Alex Fraser, in accessing the wheelchair ramp at the institution located at 47A Red Hills Road in St. Andrew, following a blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 5. The ramp was installed under the Government’s Ramps for Schools project.

 

CAPTION (IN STORY): Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left) and student, Dunrobin Primary School, Alex Fraser (foreground), cut the ribbon to open the wheelchair ramp at the institution located at 47A Red Hills Road, St. Andrew, on Tuesday (June 5). At third left is Alex’s mother Tamara Brown.

 

JIS: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says the commissioning of Youth Innovation Centres across the island will assist in the fight against crime.

 

Mr. Green, who was speaking at the official launch of the Westmoreland Youth Innovation Centre, at Llandilo, on May 31, said the real fight against crime “is touching people and providing them with a different pathway (through) education, training and personal development.”

 

He argued that although the other crime-fighting strategies cannot be ignored, he believes that the Ministry is the first line in the defence in relation to safety and security in Jamaica.

 

In this regard, his says the Innovation Centres will provide a channel through which youth can create employment for themselves and for others.

 

“These centres are now about creating the next generation of entrepreneurs in our country. We know that every youth in Jamaica has a business idea… if you go into a classroom and talk to them, they can give you a myriad of ideas. We know that our youth are talented, they are innovative, and they are very creative,” he said.

 

In the meantime, he explained that the Innovation Centres will double as Homework Centres to encourage youth to invest in the future of their communities.

 

“When our youth, who are younger, come into the space, and they are having other young people help them with their homework, can you imagine that engagement and the bond that starts to form? More importantly, they can also now directly flow into the other programmes that we have to offer,” he noted.

 

He said efforts will also be made to revitalise the youth club movement across the parish to create an avenue through which youth can have a “sense of belonging.”

 

“When you go to the clubs, you feel important, you have a network of friends, you can get a position, and they give you something to plan,” he said.

 

Mr. Green explained that the clubs, having been dormant, have created a void which has been filled by the involvement of the youth in gangs.

 

He said the Innovation Centre will provide the space through which clubs can congregate, meet and plan and, ultimately, become social enterprises that will help to build the community and sustain the clubs.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, speaks at the official launch of the Westmoreland Youth Innovation Centre, at Llandilo, on Thursday (May 31).

JIS: A seven-year birth cohort study conducted by a team of University of the West Indies (UWI) researchers has been presented at a two-day conference, beginning today (May 31), at the Sir Kenneth Standard Lecture Theatre.

 

It aims to improve the health and well-being of Jamaica’s children by providing valuable data on the relationships among a wide range of family, school, community, environmental and individual variables.

 

It will also contribute to greater understanding of the various factors that influence health and disease, as well as social and emotional development in young children.

 

Titled, ‘JA KIDS: The Jamaican Birth Cohort Study 2011’, the study included all the children born in the 14 parishes across Jamaica from July 1 to September 30, 2011.

 

Approximately 11,124 children were born in Jamaica during this period. Participants were recruited while pregnant during March to September 2011. Subsequently, contact was made with families when their children were 9-12 months, 18-22 months and 48 – to 54 months.

 

At each contact, participants were asked questions about their health and well-being, their child’s growth and development, the child’s environment, nutrition and parental practices.

 

In her address at the opening ceremony for the conference on Wednesday (May 30), at the venue, Patron of the JA KIDS conference and wife of the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, said the initiative will assist in laying the foundation for a prosperous Jamaica.

 

“The foundations are our children. They represent the hopes and dreams of our nation. It is investing in them as well as investigating their needs, their strengths and their vulnerabilities that we will enable and be better prepared to appropriately cater to their social needs, physical needs and their economic infrastructure, which will undoubtedly ensure that Jamaica will be established as a place where we can comfortably live, work raise our families, do business and retire in prosperous peace,” she said.

 

Noting that fatherhood remains an issue in Jamaica, Mrs. Holness called on men to assume their rightful place in the lives of their children.

 

She emphasised that this would lead to a balanced adulthood for these children, as “an environment of sharing and equality is crucial to a well prepared and conditioned adult.”

 

In his address, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, commended the research team for the important work they have been doing to assist in improving the development outcomes of the nation’s children.

 

“The Ministry recognises that in establishing our policies and programmes, we will be focusing on early interventions, child development and academic achievement, and our efforts must be underpinned by indepth research,” the Minister said.

 

“Evidence is crucial in supporting these initiatives. Armed with information, we are better able to allocate both financial and human resources for each sector that supports the development of our children,” he added.

 

Principal Investigator, JA KIDS, and Professor of Child Health, Development and Behaviour, Maureen Samms-Vaughan is quoted in a UWI Mona press release as saying: “We expect the findings from the JA KIDS study to benefit Jamaica by providing the health, education, social and academic sectors with information from which to develop national policies and programmes to ensure the best possible outcomes for our children and families.”

 

Representative from international funding agency, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Chief of Operations, Adriana Lavalley, said the Bank was pleased to assist in improving the lives of Jamaica’s children.

 

“As a knowledge-focused institution, the Bank welcomes the ways in which JA KIDS will deepen our understanding of the various factors that influence health, growth and development in young children and importantly, how it will enable the design and implementation of public policies, interventions and programmes that are evidence- based,” she noted.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (right) and the Most Hon. Juliet Holness (second right), cut the ribbon to open the inaugural conference exhibition for ‘JA KIDS: The Jamaican Birth Cohort Study 2011’, on Wednesday (May 30) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, in Kingston. Others sharing the occasion (from left) are: Professor of Child Health, Development and Behaviour, Maureen Samms-Vaughan; Education Specialist for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Annelle Bellony; Study Director for JA KIDS, Dr. Charlene Coore Desai and Chief of Operations, IDB, Adriana Lavalley.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is assuring Jamaicans that all the necessary mechanisms will be in place for the implementation of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) in 2019.

 

Addressing a JIS Think Tank recently, Manager of the Student Assessment Unit, Terry-Ann Thomas Gayle, said that the necessary steps are being taken to ensure that there is seamless transition from the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) to PEP.

 

As part of the public education campaign, which started in 2017, town hall meetings have been held in all 14 parishes, and Ministry personnel have met with over 10,000 parents to educate them about the new secondary placement examination.

 

Mrs. Thomas Gayle said that key stakeholders within the education sector have been trained, including assessment coordinators, on how to interpret the curriculum objectives, write rubrics, and write items to assess the curriculum.

 

She noted that every primary school is assigned an assessment coordinator whose responsibility is to ensure that teachers are delivering the curriculum effectively.

 

Mrs. Thomas Gayle said teachers for grades four and five have also benefited from training on interpreting the curriculum objectives and writing assessments at the formative level to develop the critical-thinking skills.

 

They also received instruction on how to administer the Performance Task tests and how students are expected to respond to test questions.

 

Principals in four educational regions have been trained to lead the assessment at their respective schools, and they were also exposed to all the areas in which the teachers have been trained.

 

Members of the Book Industry of Jamaica were included in some aspects of the training sessions.

 

Mrs. Thomas Gayle told JIS News that training will continue throughout the summer with the grade-six teachers. During the period, the Student Assessment Unit will release a specimen paper with sample items to teachers.

 

She is advising members of the public who have questions or concerns to contact the Ministry via WhatsApp at 876-455-3003, e-mail: [email protected], and through Facebook or Twitter @MOEYIJamaica.

 

CAPTION: Manager of the Student Assessment Unit in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Terry-Ann Thomas Gayle, addressing a recent JIS Think Tank .

 

JIS: Children are being warned to desist from oversharing personal information on social media platforms, as a worrying trend has emerged of them going missing after making face-to-face contact with strangers they met online.

 

State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, issued the caution to students at the National Missing Children’s Forum, held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on May 25.

 

Mr. Green urged the children to be careful, “as social media profiles tell the world a lot about you”.

 

“Some of you are leaving profiles that you think will go away (but) they will follow you for your entire life. You have to take significant note of that,” he added.

 

The State Minister recalled an incident in which a child residing in Montego Bay, St. James, went missing and was found dead after leaving home to meet an individual she had met through social media.

 

Meanwhile, Director of Safety and Security in Schools, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Coleridge Minto, told JIS News that he continues to ramp up public education by speaking to students about the dangers of social media.

 

The Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has also assisted children in understanding the dangers of posting locations and other identifying information online.

 

“C-TOC has been going into the schools to ensure we promote the message of responsible use of social media, and we find that it is working to an extent, but we still have more work to do in terms of making our parents empowered to understand social media in a responsible way,” Mr. Minto said.

 

Aimed at bringing together a wide cross section of individuals to discuss the ongoing issue of missing and exploited children, the forum was held under the theme ‘Be the Change! Help us bring our children home’.

 

Held against the observance of International Missing Children’s Day, the forum was intended to strengthen the local legislative policy framework that governs missing children and to educate them on how to better protect themselves.

 

Meanwhile, data provided by the Ananda Alert Secretariat show continued decline in the number of children reported missing annually.

 

In 2017, a total of 1,674 children were reported missing, which shows a three per cent decline when compared to the corresponding period in 2016.

 

Of those children, a total of 1,476 were returned home, maintaining a nine out of 10 return or rate of recovery.

 

For her part, Chief Executive Officer of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Rosalee Gage-Grey, said that “one child lost is a missed opportunity in the furtherance of a prosperous Jamaica”.

 

She emphasised that the agency remains committed to reuniting families with their loved ones and will be continuing to explore ways to tackle violence against children.

 

This is to be done through an improved National Plan of Action for Violence against Children, which includes the roll-out of a public education campaign in coming months.

 

“We firmly believe that the conversation about violence against children must be on the agenda of every household across the island,” she said.

 

During the forum, four schools selected in the Ananda Alert Safe Schools Competition presented on tangible projects within their schools aimed at fostering a safer school community and building awareness around the Ananda Alert System.

 

The schools are Frome Technical High in Westmoreland, Greater Portmore High in St. Catherine, Glenmuir High in Clarendon and Westwood High in Trelawny.

 

CAPTION: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (left), and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Rosalee Gage-Grey (right), discussing the programme for the National Missing Children’s Forum with Public Relations Officer of the CPFSA, Jeneva Gordon, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on May 25.

JIS: The Youth Employment in the Digital Animation Industry (YEDAI) Project has been relocated to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) as part of a strategic move aimed at accelerating the growth of the local animation industry.

 

Formerly housed in the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, the project seeks to foster innovation and support youth employment in animation.

 

State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, said the decision was made to transfer the project “because we believe that under the OPM, which is focused on economic growth and job creation, we need to bring in all our strategic resources”.

 

“We have also put the HEART Trust/NTA under OPM; we have aligned that with our HOPE programme, which is focused on youth unemployment,” he noted.

 

“Now that we have all of these resources housed under the OPM with the attention and direction at the highest level of Government, we expect that the bureaucratic issues will be moved out as we see how we can get our animation industry right across the length and breadth of Jamaica,” he added.

 

Mr. Green was addressing stakeholders on the opening of the two-day Jamaica Digital Screen Business Conference at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston on May 24.

 

Organised by the World Bank/Korean Trust Fund in collaboration with Youth Employment, the conference created an interface for industry-focused dialogue among business owners, policymakers, industry experts, academics and other animation stakeholders.

 

Discussion focused on matters relating to intellectual property rights, creating a regulatory framework for the local animation industry, certification and standards for training programmes, and incentive schemes for investors and animation studios/businesses.

 

The event was in keeping with the Government’s focus on supporting youth employment, innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital and animation industries in Jamaica.

 

State Minister Green noted that the 11 youth information centres (YIC) across the island will be transformed into innovation centres, which, he said, “will focus a lot more on the digital economy.” The first Youth Innovation Centre is slated to open on May 31 in Westmoreland.

 

“We have already received support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (to ensure) that we have the necessary technology, equipment and software installed into our centres,” he said.

 

He noted that more rural youth will benefit from training in animation as part of the Government’s thrust to equip over 6,000 persons with such skills.

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Green said he wants to see more animation used in the communication of Government programmes and policies similar to the iCat character used by the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica in its public education initiatives.

 

He said his Ministry has begun exploring ways to make this possible.

 

In his remarks, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Jamaica, Ambassador Young Gyu Lee, said his country has been supporting Jamaica’s animation sector through the Korea Trust Fund (KTF)/World Bank partnership.

 

“A Jamaican delegation, including animators, visited Korea for idea sharing and consultation and participation in internship programmes. Korean animation specialists also came to Jamaica to assist in training programmes for some Jamaicans,” he noted.

 

The Korean Ambassador indicated that his country “thinks of Jamaica as a valuable cooperative partner and will continue to pay attention to its development in animation”.

 

He expressed the hope that the conference will enable the sharing of insights “so that Jamaica gets more ideas for animation development”.

 

World Bank Co-Task Team Leader for the YEDAI Project, Karlene Francis, in her remarks noted that her agency has been partnering with Jamaica on initiatives to grow animation, including the annual KingstOOn Animation Conference and Film Festival.

 

For her part, YEDAI Project Manager, Margery Newsome, urged participants to take full advantage of the conference, as it will enhance “collective knowledge and understanding of  global animation and take us closer to achieving our goal of building the local industry”.

 

CAPTION: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (second right), observes as cosplayer, Rhea Rampair, demontrates her portrayal of Soraka, the Starchild from the videogame League of Legends. Occasion was the opening day of the two-day Jamaica Digital Screen Business Conference, at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston, on May 24. Others from (second left) are Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Jamaica, Ambassador Young Gyu Lee and World Bank’s Co-Task Team Leader for the Youth Employment in the Digital Animation Industry (YEDAI) Project, Karlene Francis.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will administer two sets of mock Performance Task tests as students are being prepared to transition from the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) to the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination, beginning in 2019.

 

On June 18 and 19, students who are currently in grade five at the primary level and will be the first cohort to sit PEP in 2019, will do the mock test. Meanwhile, students who are now in grade four will do their test on June 22.

 

Addressing a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (May 24), Manager of the Student Assessment Unit in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Terry-Ann Thomas Gayle, said the mock test seeks to sensitise and relax students as they prepare for PEP.

 

Grade-five students, who will transition into grade six in September 2018, will do the mock Performance Task test in Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science. The grade-four students, who will transition to grade five come September, will do the Performance Task test in Language Arts and Mathematics.

 

“We have been preparing our teachers and the education system on a whole to be familiar with this assessment,” Mrs. Thomas Gayle said.

 

“Grade-four and -five teachers have been trained to interpret curriculum objectives, how to write assessments at the formative level (classroom level) to develop the critical-thinking skills,” she added.

 

Unlike GSAT, students will not only be assessed on content, but emphasis will be placed on the extent to which students are able to use their knowledge of content and skills they developed to solve problems.

 

Coming out of a 2004 Task Force on Educational Reform Report, it was recommended that the Jamaican education system embark on a radical transformation process to equip its citizens with the necessary skills and competencies that will give them a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

 

The PEP will provide a profile of where students are academically, their strengths and weaknesses and their readiness for grade seven at the secondary level.

 

CAPTION: Manager of the Student Assessment Unit at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information , Terry-Ann Thomas Gayle (centre), addresses JIS ‘Think Tank’ today (May 24). Also taking part are Assistant Chief Education Officer at the Core Curriculum Unit in the Ministry, Dr. Clover Hamilton-Flowers (right), and Senior Education Officer, Maryah Ho-Young.

GLEANER: Education Minister Ruel Reid has indicated that greater effort is to be placed on educating children in their most “absorptive years” through reading programmes, which would, in the long term, help to steer the country away from the infestation of crime.

 

Speaking yesterday at the launch of the Early Grade Reading Conference at the Terra Nova Hotel in St Andrew, Reid said that he would have to redirect the mandate of the Early Childhood Commission to focus on the zero-to-three age group in order to bring about the needed change in the country’s construct.

 

The Early Grade Reading Conference is set for September 27 under the theme ‘Get Reading, Right From the Start!’ at the The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. It will feature workshops and presentations, a kiddies’ village, and several display booths.

 

The conference will be hosted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Latin America and the Caribbean READS Capacity Programme.

 

“Reading is very critical and fundamental to furthering the success in the education system, and while we have institutions such as the Early Childhood Commission, I will have to redirect their mandate because if we are going to be successful, we will have to focus on the zero-to-three age group,” he stated.

 

KEY STAGE OF LIFE

 

 Reid said that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are the most important and that his ministry was keen on making the policy the foundation on which the education system is reconstructed.

 

“We need to continually ramp up all the various aspects of early stimulation, and early reading is critical to that process,” he added.

 

Andrew Coburn, the acting mission director for USAID, Jamaica, said that the agency continues to partner with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information to improve early grade reading in most primary schools across the country.

 

“The agency has been successful in raising the performance of boys, introducing assessment tools used by teachers, and empowering youth to grasp the opportunities provided by institutions to give them tools for success in the world of work,” said Coburn.

 

[email protected]

 

CAPTION: Ruel Reid (left), minister of education, youth, and information, is being congratulated by Nicandro Juarez (right), president of Juarez and Associates, USA, shortly after giving the keynote address at the media launch of the Early Grade Reading Conference at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston on Tuesday.

JIS: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says that the Government continues to explore ways to enable greater youth participation in decision-making at the national level.

 

He said that in addition to reinstating the National Youth Parliament two years ago, 16 youth advisors have been appointed, who have sat on the policy decision-making  boards for the National Identification System (NIDS), reform of the Sexual Offences Act, and the Road Traffic Act, among others.

 

He noted that the National Youth Policy, which was revised last year, has among its objectives “that we must maximise youth participation in the decision-making process”.

 

The National Youth Policy outlines and explores areas for action and indicates six priority areas – education and training; health and well-being; employment and entrepreneurship; youth participation; social inclusion and reintegration; and institutional and youth sector arrangements.

 

The Education State Minister, who has responsibility for youth, was speaking at the launch of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) U-Report at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston on May 22.

 

The free social-messaging tool provides a platform for young people to add their voices to matters of national importance.

 

Used globally by over five million people in more than 40 countries, U-Report is youth-led and fosters genuine youth participation, allowing them to speak out on issues affecting them.

 

The initiative is the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean and targets young people between the ages of 13 and 29, who can sign up to be U-Reporters via social media platforms Facebook and Twitter.

 

Telecommunications giant Flow has partnered with UNICEF to allow young people to sign up via SMS text messaging at no cost to Flow users.

 

Once registered, U-Reporters are sent polls regularly on a wide range of issues, including crime and violence, health and education.

 

Mr. Green welcomed the launch, noting that it aligns with the Government’s plans for youth involvement.

 

He said that U-Report will serve as a tool for guiding decision-makers as well as justify implementation of policies for the benefit of young people.

 

Meanwhile, National U-Report Coordinator, Christopher Harper, informed that the platform’s accompanying website will allow the public to view the data collected from what young people are saying.

 

He noted that U-Report will provide an opportunity to hold the authorities accountable.

 

“If we’re getting the responses in high numbers… we now have an avenue to say ‘how are you responding to the findings’?” he pointed out.

 

UNICEF Jamaica Representative, Mark Connolly, for his part, said the tool will keep discussions ongoing among youth and enable the sharing of solutions to problems affecting them.

 

In a case study provided by UNICEF, over 3,000 U-Reporters in Chile in 2015 were asked what they thought the top priority for teens should be, and sex education emerged as important.  As a result, focus was shifted to give sex education precedence.

 

Executive Chairman of the Flow Foundation, Errol Miller, expressed support for the platform and noted that “by giving young people a voice they can take their rightful place in society as agents of change”.

 

CAPTION: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (third left) takes a selfie with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Jamaica Representative, Mark Connolly (second left), and students from the Norman Manley High School following the launch of the UNICEF free social-messaging tool, U-Report, at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston on May 22.