JIS: Following months of deliberations, the island’s teachers have accepted the Government’s four-year wage offer.

 

The new Heads of Agreement for the 2017 to 2021 contract period was signed between the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) and the Government during a ceremony at the National Heroe Circle offices of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, on Wednesday (May 16).

 

Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, said the Government values the nation’s teachers and the role they play in the society.

 

“The teachers of Jamaica represent a foundation in our society. We have all been influenced by teachers who have played crucial roles in our own individual lives, and we wouldn’t be where we are without our teachers,” he said.

 

Dr. Clarke said he is pleased that an agreement was reached that all involved were comfortable with.

 

President of the JTA, Georgia Waugh Richards, said she is pleased that all parties have come to an agreement after a tough negotiating process.

 

“We had brought the offer to the teachers of Jamaica, and we all agreed that the four-year contract period would hold, but there are other items of fringe benefits that had seen improvements, and based on that, the teachers decided that it was now time to accept,” she said.

 

She noted however, that she could not disclose the new package until the nation’s teachers were first briefed on the final agreement.

 

“We have listened to the voices of the teachers of Jamaica and we have acted according to their wishes, and so we look forward to future collaborations and discussions as they relate to the well-being of the teachers of Jamaica,” she said.

 

In the meantime, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dean-Roy Bernard, said he is pleased with the outcome of the negotiations.

 

“We have done very well in negotiating on behalf of the welfare of our beloved almost 25,000 teachers, and this is a signal moment and we are happy to be part of it,” he said.

 

The teachers have agreed to wage increases over the agreed period of five per cent in the first year; two and four per cent in the second and third years, respectively; and five per cent in the final year.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke (second left), shakes the hand of President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Georgia Waugh Richards, after they signed a new Heads of Agreement for the nation’s teachers for the 2017 to 2021 contract period. The agreement was signed during a ceremony at the National Heroes Circle offices of the Finance Ministry on Wednesday (May 16). Also pictured (from left) are Minister without Portfolio in the Finance Ministry, Hon. Fayval Williams; and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dean-Roy Bernard.

JIS: The Government is in discussions with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as it relates to the buildout of five of 17 new schools, in order to remove 40 from the shift system.

 

Speaking at the launch of the Support for Sustainability of the Education Sector Transformation Plan, at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on May 15, Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, said that a proposal in furtherance of the buildout of the schools is before the Public Investment Management Secretariat (PIMSEC).

 

An institution of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, PIMSEC was established to manage and administer all government projects in Jamaica, regardless of the source of funding, the type of procurement or implementation method used.

 

“I must also happily report that there are several local and international interests that have approached us in terms of wanting to help us to build out (these) particular infrastructure,” the Minister said.

 

Additionally, Mr. Reid noted that “there are even persons willing to give us a moratorium to facilitate this”.

 

The Transformation Plan is designed to support the continued improvement in the performance of the education sector, in order to meet the demands of the country’s development goals.

 

It consists of three to four areas to sustain the gains made in the education sector to date, and addresses remaining challenges.

 

These are the strengthening of the early-childhood modernisation initiatives centred on innovation in teaching, development of curriculum and materials, and regulation of the sector.

 

It also includes support to assist teachers’ colleges to strengthen internal quality assurance and capacity building for teacher education in numeracy and science, and technical support to the Division of School Services. The fourth component involves an audit to ensure the money is properly used.

 

Funded by the Embassy of Japan in Jamaica in the sum of US$500,000, the IDB will have responsibility for managing the finance on behalf of the Education, Youth and Information Ministry.

 

Senator Reid endorsed the technical cooperation grant, noting that there needs to be continuity and, by extension, sustainability in the plans for the education sector.

 

Meanwhile, in his remarks, Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Hiromasa Yamazaki, noted that investing in education at all levels is important to the overall development of the country and its people.

 

Mr. Yamazaki informed that over the past decades, Japan has been supporting Jamaica in the area of education under the Grant Assistance of Grassroots Human Security Project, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

 

For her part, Chief of Operations at the IDB, Adriana La Valley, said that “education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to effectively change the world”.

 

“We continue to provide support to initiatives that will foster continued improvement in transformation of educational outcomes. That is why we continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information to fill development gaps in the sector,” she said.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (right), in discussion with Chief of Operations at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Adriana La Valley (centre) and the Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Hiromasa Yamazaki, at the launch of the Support for Sustainability of the Education Sector Transformation Plan, at the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel in New Kingston on May 15

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s inaugural Higher Education Summit concluded on Friday (May 11), with production of a ‘Declaration on higher education in Jamaica.’

 

The document, which emerged out of two days of deliberations by stakeholders at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, is expected to guide the development of legislation on governance, quality assurance and regulation of tertiary education.

 

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Ruel Reid, who spoke to JIS NEWS after accepting the declaration from Chairman of the Higher Education Summit Committee, Dr. Dameon Black, said it will be integral in transforming the way tertiary education is delivered in Jamaica.

 

“This is very historic because it is setting the platform for how Jamaica is going to position itself to develop its human resources at a very high level. So, we can have the critical mass of workers, who are trained and aligned to the areas of national priority, the areas where the economy is going, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas [and] the industrial areas,” he said.

 

“This is what this forum and summit have been about. It’s solving our human resource problem, resolving the issues in the tertiary education sector and planting Jamaica firmly on a path for serious growth and development in the future,” he added.

 

Mr. Reid said he is satisfied that the document, which came out of the suggestions by the various stakeholders, will help chart a course for students to have better access to education at universities.

 

Senator Reid told JIS NEWS that the decision to stage the summit was to address issues relating to the management and regulation of the higher education sector.

 

“We’ve been talking about quality assurance. We’ve been talking about registration, regulation, access, financing of the tertiary sector [and] how, as a Ministry, we are organised so that we can have all these things done,” he pointed out.

 

“So, it was important to have full consultation among the stakeholders, get wide participation of these varying interest groups, and so we come to one consensus, which is what this declaration is about; how we move the education sector forward through tertiary education,” he noted.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left) accepting the Declaration on Higher Education in Jamaica from Chairman, Higher Education Summit Committee, Dr. Dameon Black, at the conclusion of the two-day summit at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Friday (May 11).

JIS: The Government is looking to create an Integrated Higher Education System for Jamaica (IHES-J) aimed at better aligning training to industry demands.

 

Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, made the disclosure while addressing the opening of the Ministry’s inaugural Higher Education Summit on May 10 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.

 

“This integration is expected to be supported with policies and systems to support greater autonomy, greater alignment to industry and a flexible approach to funding to support the needs of the institutions, while ensuring that students are being trained in areas that are required by industry and will ultimately impact the economy,” he said.

 

He said that despite deliberations over the years, limited progress has been made in addressing the need for greater integration of education and training.

 

“Our hope is that coming out of these discussions (at the summit) we will be able to agree on the needed and significant steps forward together,” he said.

 

The two-day summit, under the theme: ‘Education 4.0: Disrupting Tradition…Transforming Jamaica,’ provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss and provide feedback on a number of issues critical to the development of the higher education sector.

 

From the consultations, the Ministry will seek to establish a declaration, which will encapsulate the core principles around which the Government will be able to define and pass legislation with regards to matters of governance, quality assurance and regulation of higher education.

 

In his address, Senator Reid highlighted the importance of higher education to the development of the country.

 

He said that among the national imperatives are: to increase the percentage of eligible cohort holding the minimum of a bachelor’s degree from 15 per cent to 80 per cent; remove barriers to access; and ensure that institutions are responsive to the changing dynamics and requirements of the labour market.

 

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dean-Roy Bernard, in his contribution, stressed that a key objective of the deliberations is to ensure that higher education is supporting the economic growth agenda.

 

“We hear many times of the 67 per cent of our workforce that are untrained and uncertified. This summit is to ensure that we are reducing those numbers rapidly,” he said.

 

Over the two days, experts in education and industry made presentations on a range of topics including: ‘Higher Education, Governance and the Oversight Framework’; ‘Autonomy within the Higher Education Sector’; ‘Funding the Higher Education Sector’; and ‘Relevance, Innovation and Leadership.’

 

Among those in attendance were members of external quality assurance body, University Council of Jamaica (UCJ); regulatory body, Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC); the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) and their member institutions; and student representatives.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, speaking at the opening of the inaugural Higher Education Summit on Thursday, May 10 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston. Observed under the theme: ‘Education 4.0: Disrupting Tradition…Transforming Jamaica’, the two-day summit aimed to provide a platform for stakeholders within the higher education sector to discuss and provide feedback on a number of issues critical to the development of the sector.

JIS: As part of measures by the Government to address youth unemployment, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will be establishing 13 access points for youth seeking training and career development services.

 

“These access points will provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for our young people, whether they want improved literacy or are looking for job placement or certification and training,” State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green, told the House during his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate on May 8.

 

The initiative is a result of the merger of four of the country’s national training institutions under the Ministry – the HEART Trust/NTA, National Youth Service (NYS), Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) and the Apprenticeship Board.

 

Mr. Green said the merger is facilitating a broad range of opportunities for the development of Jamaica’s human capital.

 

“Because of this merger, we are going after increased numbers. We have targeted a 14 per cent increase in enrolment in the HEART Trust/NTA over the course of this year,” the State Minister informed.

 

He added that the merged entity has facilitated an increase in placement of young persons in summer jobs for this year, exceeding the target of 8,000 to 14,377 young persons engaged in summer employment.

 

Also, adjustments have been made to the stipend of summer workers, moving from a weekly sum of $6,000 for secondary-school students to $8,500, and the stipend for tertiary students increasing from $8,500 to $10,600.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, making his 2018/19 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on May 8

JIS: Jamaican students sitting Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) subjects will soon be required to take some aspects of their examinations online.

 

This forms part of the CXC Learning Hub, which was launched during a press conference at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Thursday (May 10).

 

Through the hub, students will have increased access to CXC material as well as resources produced by the examination body’s external partners.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, in welcoming the move by CXC said that with the advancement of technology, it is only fitting for Jamaica’s education system to start testing the use of online examinations for students exiting the secondary level.

 

He said the plan to use audiovisuals, videos and animations in multiple-choice testing will provide a particularly attractive option for boys and will help them perform better in external examinations.

 

The Minister hailed the hub as an exciting development. “With a growing emphasis on incorporating information and communications technology (ICT) into the teaching/learning process, easier access to resources in multiple formats, such as audio, video, animation, text, images, hyperlinks, e-books and links to CXC social media platforms, should prove very attractive and useful to current students and teachers alike, and particularly boys,” he said.

 

CXC Registrar, Glenroy Cumberbatch, said CXC is utilising e-testing in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), where students’ physical records were destroyed during hurricane Irma.

 

“This year, [BVI] has decided to do all of their examinations – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), [and] Caribbean Certificate of Secondary-Level Competence (CCSLC) online, both paper ones and paper twos,” he said.

  

He noted that the students have already sat mathematics and English, “and they went through without any major challenges”.

 

Mr. Cumberbatch said that e-testing makes grading easier and enables saving examination papers in a database, which will ensure that they are preserved during natural disasters.

 

The CXC Learning Hub will provide an integrated system that will house myriad resources that can be accessed by learners free of cost (freemium) or for a fee (premium).

 

Resources that will be available free are interactive syllabuses, subject reports, practice tests and digital toolkits that contain resources for learners and teachers, including infographics, animations, audio, images and videos.

 

The premium content will include games, process animations and other multimedia learning objects that have been created by CXC.

 

Users will have flexibility in how they access the resources, whether through a micro or macro format.

 

At the micro level, users will be able to access a chapter in a book or an article in a journal, for example, rather than purchase the entire publication.

 

At the macro level, users can access a set of resources or a single resource in its entirety. Additionally, they will have the option of purchasing material and owning it or may opt for subscription access for a specific period of time.

 

Resources in the hub will support CXC’s suite of qualifications – Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA), CCSLC, the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), CSEC, CAPE and associate degrees.

 

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will provide information to the public about the CXC online tests once the system is in place.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left) speaking at the launch of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Learning Hub at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Thursday (May 10). Seated at the head table (from left) are Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dean-Roy Bernard; CXC Registrar, Glenroy Cumberbatch; Chief Education Officer, Dr. Grace McLean; and Pro-Registrar, CXC, Dr. Carol Granston.

JIS: The Ananda Alert Secretariat has recorded a decline in the number of children reported missing.

 

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says 1,674 children were reported missing in 2017, representing a three per cent decline over 2016.

 

“Of that total, 1,476 children were returned home, which amounts to approximately nine out of 10 returned. What we have recognised [is], when the children come home, we have to strengthen our intervention to ensure that they don’t leave again,” he stated.

 

To this end, Mr. Green said the Ministry has strengthened its partnership with other social service agencies, such as the Justice Ministry’s Victim Services Division, to ensure that these needs are met, while indicating that almost 600 children were referred for counselling services last year.

 

The State Minister was speaking during his 2018/19 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 8).

 

It was also noted that the number of children found dead in 2017, subsequent to the filing of a missing child report, totalled three, representing a 25 per cent decline when compared to 2016.

 

 

JIS: The Government will be scaling up youth training and employment under the National Service Corps Programme (NSCP) through a massive financial injection of $1.2 billion this financial year.

 

State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure in his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 8).

 

“Last year, we put $200 million into the National Service Corps programme. Because we are seeing the results, this year, it is budgeted that we will put, from the HEART Trust/NTA, $800 million, and from the World Bank a further $390 million into the programme,” he informed.

 

The brainchild of Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, the NSCP aims to create an avenue for young people, aged 18 to 24, to be fully empowered through education, training and certification.

 

It falls under the Government’s Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) initiative, targeting job and training opportunities for unattached young people.

 

Minister Green said that of the 6,345 applications received, a total of 4,762 youths have been trained in core skills and work-ready behaviours required by the labour market.

 

Approximately 1,200 persons have been placed across 23 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), including the HEART Trust/NTA, Office of the Prime Minister; Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation; Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, National Land Agency; National Housing Trust; National Irrigation Commission; and the Ministry of Justice.

 

Mr. Green said that an estimated $200 million has been spent under the programme from June 2017 to February 2018 for payment of stipend, rental of venue, training costs, meals and refreshments.

 

He said the focus now is to transition the youth from training to employment, thereby creating a pathway for continued lowering of the youth unemployment rate.

 

The latest report from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) shows that the youth unemployment rate has declined to 23.8 per cent from 33 per cent when the Government took office in February 2016.

 

“That is an almost 10 per cent drop; it’s not by chance,” Mr. Green said, crediting the decline to “a targeted and purposeful approach to youth unemployment” by the Government.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, making his 2018/19 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on May 8

JIS: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Administration is serious about ramping up training in order to ensure that persons are globally competitive.

 

Mr. Green, who was speaking during the Splashjamaica.com Career Fair and Job Expo at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James on Wednesday (May 9), said it is the responsibility of Government to connect citizens with opportunities.

 

“What I find right across the length and breadth of Jamaica is that people are not looking for handouts, people are not looking for politicians to walk around and dole out money.

 

“What they are looking for is opportunity to get gainfully employed, so that they can help themselves and their family; that is what people really want in Jamaica,” he said.

 

In this regard, he noted that the Government has been working to reform the HEART Trust/NTA to ensure that individuals have easy access to globally marketable programmes.

 

“The HEART Trust is not a second-chance school; (it) is providing training for the job market. That is why the HEART Trust/NTA concentrates so much on skilled labour and those areas that we know are needed not just here, but abroad,” he outlined.

 

Mr. Green said it is important for individuals to seek to gain some sort of qualification that will make them marketable.

 

“Certification is important, so if you are not certified, get certified, if you are at a lower level, upgrade,” he suggested.

 

He further stressed the need for persons to analyse the job market and seek qualifications in areas where there are numerous opportunities for employment and job creation.

 

“Look back at the job market, because some of you are trained in areas that there are very limited opportunities. Right now, we have a big drive to get people employed in the business process outsourcing sector … we expect to have 15,000 jobs right here in Jamaica over the next five years,” he shared.

 

Meanwhile, the Minister underscored the importance of also gaining experience to supplement the qualifications one will receive.

 

These, along with the right attitude, he said, will help to advance persons within the job market.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green,

JIS: The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) will be launching an anti-bullying campaign this month.

 

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, in making the disclosure in his contribution to the 2018/2019 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8, said that “the issue of bullying is real and has to be addressed”.

 

“Our anti-bullying campaign will highlight the prevalence of bullying, giving real-life scenarios and how children who are being bullied can get help,” he noted.

 

He noted that the safety in schools framework will also be strengthened with the introduction of a team of social workers who can assist in exploring the home situations of those who exhibit bullying tendencies, “because oftentimes, even the bullies are victims”.

 

The anti-bullying campaign is one of three major public-education initiatives to be rolled out by the CPFSA in May. The others are focused on corporal punishment and children protection.

 

Mr. Green said the messages will be transmitted via mainstream and social media. “The agency’s public relations team will be hosting road shows islandwide as well as school and community visits,” he informed.

 

Meanwhile, the State Minister said the Ministry is formulating a ‘Know your Policy’ campaign to educate the public about the National Youth Policy 2017-2030.

 

The policy is designed to address major needs, challenges and opportunities for young people, while seeking to define a common vision and framework for youth development.

 

“It also endeavours to provide all youth to have access to meaningful opportunities, so that they may reach their full potential, and gives direction to youth programmes and services provided by the Government and non-government organisations,” Mr. Green said.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, making his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives today (May 8).