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).

JIS: The Government is undertaking a pilot with Family Life Ministries for the establishment of the country’s first privately run foster-care programme.

 

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, explained that under the arrangement, Family Life Ministries “will seek to do recruitment and training of prospective families, all of whom will be vetted by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA)”.

 

He informed that Family Life Ministries will be providing additional stipends for families who are recruited through the programme “while the children will remain our children and their progress will be tracked through continuous assessment”.

 

The State Minister made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2018/2019 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8, where he announced that the Government has doubled the monthly stipend paid for the care of each foster child from $4,000 to $8,000.

 

He called for more persons to open their homes and foster a child, noting that there are positive outcomes for children who are placed in a family environment.

 

He informed that the CPFSA has identified close to 200 children who are ready to be placed in foster care.

 

Turning to adoption services, Mr. Green informed that up to March of this year, a total of 217 children have been permanently placed with families – 171 locally and 46 overseas.

 

“This is a 26 per cent increase,” he indicated, noting there is a list of qualified persons waiting for children to join their families.

 

“We are committed to reforming the Adoption Act to ensure that unnecessary barriers to the process of adoption are removed,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, he informed that a transition living complex will open in June to accommodate about 40 female wards, who are set to leave State care.

 

The facility, located on Lady Musgrave Road in St. Andrew, was built through partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

Mr. Green told the House that work is set to start on the refurbishing of a house in Mona, St. Andrew, to serve as a transitional facility for 12 youngsters, while construction will begin in the last quarter of the financial year on another facility to house 40 males in Southfield, St. Elizabeth.

 

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 on May 8.

JIS: The most recent tracer study and review for the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) School Suspension Intervention Programme indicate that approximately 85 per cent of the beneficiaries maintain and utilise the conflict resolution and behaviour change methodologies imparted under the initiative.

 

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank on May 4, the DRF’s Content Delivery Leader, Paul Hines, said the programme has been successful over the years in helping suspended students to manage conflict, improve communication and re-enrol in school, through various interventions.

 

“More often than not, some of those students who have been suspended from school have had myriads of problems, (including) with authority figures, and are unable to adjust to the realities of what school is about.

 

“So we help them during that suspension period to look at what’s required, (in order) to see their environment differently. We also help them to work through how they go back to school and apply what they have learnt during the period,” Mr. Hines said.

 

The programme, which started in 2008, aims to provide a safe space for youngsters who have been suspended from school, while engaging them in structured activities, including capacity-building workshops and sessions, to prepare them for re-integration in the school environment.

 

The programme operates in St. James, St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew and, to a lesser extent, St. Ann.

 

Students are normally referred to the programme by schools. However, referrals can also be made by parents or the police.

 

The Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) III, which sponsors the initiative, also makes referrals through its case management outreach in communities.

 

Psychologist with CSJP III, Chaday Nelson, hailed the multifaceted approach by the DRF, through the programme.

 

She said the initiative is consistent with CSJP’s mandate to reduce crime, as it focuses on behaviour change and conflict resolution.

 

“In the Psychological Services Unit, we focus on how we can change attitudes and perceptions, (and) how we can give persons the tools they need, so that when they are faced with a conflict, they recognise that they have alternative ways of dealing with it,” Ms. Nelson said.

 

CAPTION: Dispute Resolution Foundation Content Delivery Leader, Paul Hines, speaking at a Jamaica Information Service Think Tank on May 4.

JIS: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says reading will help in preparing students for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), which is scheduled to commence in the 2018/19 academic year.

 

“It is very opportune that as we are focused on the transition from the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) to PEP, we recognise that it is through reading and self-directed learning that we are going to get students to apply their knowledge that they would have acquired.

 

“In this way, we can see how they apply those concepts in real life and demonstrate their understanding… because that is part of how the exam is going to be structured. They have to be able to read, interpret and apply the concept, and explain themselves in a written form. This is a skill set that is at the very core of success in education,” he said.

 

The Minister was speaking with JIS News on May 8 at the New Providence Primary School in Kingston, where he read to a group of grade-four students in celebration of Read Across Jamaica Day 2018.

 

PEP, which will replace GSAT as the national secondary-school entrance test, is intended to provide an improved and more complete profile of students’ academic and critical-thinking capabilities at the end of primary-level education.

 

It will comprise a Performance Task Test, Ability Task Test and a Curriculum-Based Test.

 

Senator Reid emphasised that promoting literacy remains a top priority for his Ministry.

 

“The whole culture of reading is very important. It is in reading, particularly individual, self-directed reading, that (we grow). We encourage reading… for recreation, knowledge and empowerment,” he said.

 

Noting that there are many persons across society who have not achieved the level of education and training that is desirable, Senator Reid underscored that for this to be reversed, “we have to institutionalise the culture of reading to strengthen our human resource capabilities”.

 

Read Across Jamaica Day coincided with activities during May marking Child Month.

 

The annual day, organised by the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, aims to promote the importance of literacy and is part of activities in observance of Education Week 2018, from May 5 to 11.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, shows a picture in a book to grade-four students of New Providence Primary School in Kingston during an interactive reading session at the institution on Tuesday (May 8) in observance of Read Across Jamaica Day 2018. The exercise, which is organized annually by the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, forms part of activities marking Education Week, being observed this year from May 5 to 11. Beside Senator Reid (from left) are Kebra Simpson, Marstaian Williams and Rasheed Tucker.

JIS: Work valued at $25 million is being undertaken at the Granville Place of Safety in Trelawny, where a multipurpose classroom is being built.

 

“This will be opened in the second quarter of this year and will offer our female wards skills training,” State Minster in the Ministry of Education Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green said.

 

He was speaking during his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8.

 

Additionally, Mr. Green said, $50 million has been allocated in the 2018/19 Budget for the continued renovation of residential State care facilities.

 

He noted that chief among the projects will be preparatory work for phase one of a therapeutic centre to be constructed at Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston; and the construction of new dormitories at the St Augustine Place of Safety in Clarendon as also at Granville.

 

The improvement works are being done under a comprehensive five-year plan.

 

So far, the Muirton Child Care Facility in Portland was renovated at a cost of $40 million and reopened in March.

 

The home is the first Government-operated, purpose-built facility to cater to children with special needs. It can accommodate 25 boys, ages 11 to 16, with mild disabilities.

 

“We have already started the process of moving boys from other homes to Muirton so that they can get the specialised attention to enable every child in out care to unleash their tomorrow today,” Mr. Green stated.

 

Additionally, a new multipurpose facility at St. Augustine’s Place of Safety, was opened in April, which included new administrative offices as well as offices for social workers and councillors, and a new kitchen to be used for training the boys in food preparation. This was upgraded at a cost of $16.6 million.

 

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 on May 8.

JIS: The Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund has committed $120 million towards the certification of early-childhood institutions.

 

This was disclosed by Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, during his contribution to the 2018/19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 8.

 

Mr. Green said the Government, through the certification programme, continues to “do what many thought impossible”, and urged the House to be “unwavering in our drive to get our early-childhood institutions certified”.

 

He noted that the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), led by Chair, Trisha Williams-Singh, and Executive Director, Karlene Deslandes, continues to work with practitioners, communities and schools to achieve the designated operating standards.

 

“During last year, 13 early-childhood institutions were certified, 24 additional infant departments have been established islandwide and two new stand-alone infant schools… established,” Mr. Green pointed out.

 

The ECC was established by the Early Childhood Commission Act (2003), in keeping with the Government of Jamaica’s strategic goal of improving the quality of early-childhood care, education and development within the sector

 

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: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is on a mission to transform the education system into one that operates based on a ‘mass customisation’ format, and not ‘generalised education’, which has been the tradition for decades.

 

According to Chief Education Officer in the Ministry, Dr. Grace McLean, her organisation believes changing the teaching process at the early-childhood, primary and secondary levels from ‘general education’ to ‘mass customisation’, will allow students to better express themselves and create career paths that are not traditional but are in keeping with the new jobs being created.

 

“The Ministry is taking a strategic approach towards not following a generalised education (anymore), whether formal or structured, but to move into mass customisation,” Dr. McLean said while speaking at the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Kingston’s luncheon held at Hotel Four Seasons on Monday (May 7).

 

“Mass customisation in a general context… refers to the design, production, marketing and delivery of customised products and services on a mass basis. It means that customers (youth) can select, order and receive a specially configured product… from hundreds of product options to meet their individual [academic and career] needs, so it is built to order (and) built to satisfy numerous customers across the world,” she explained.

 

Dr. McLean added the Government has taken the stance to create an education sector that is driven by mass customisation, and not generalised education, because of the advancements in technology and the need to provide students with the opportunity to draft their own career paths.

 

“The concept of mass customisation may provide the solution to us overcoming some of the deficiencies of a system that is traditionally focused on generalisations. It moves one’s thinking beyond costly customisation, on the one hand, and pure standardisation of education on the other, towards the concept of hybrid, practical and competitive strategies that are fundamental for the development of a modern education system. Mass customisation of education should be to meet the needs of all our students,” she said.

 

She argued that if Jamaica used the mass customisation format decades ago, the current workforce would have more qualified, skilled and trained professionals.

 

Dr. McLean said the ‘mass customisation’ approach will help the education sector to better achieve the goals and objectives outlined by the Ministry and complement the 1:25 teacher to student ratio that is now being introduced by the Ministry.

 

“We have just taken the decision to lower the pupil (to) teacher ratio, so they can truly practise mass customisation. We want our students to see the opportunities that are there, challenge and question our administrators, and, based on these, make decisions they want (regarding their academic and career goals),” Dr. McLean said.

 

“This is the approach the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is currently following as we seek to ensure that the needs of every single Jamaican child [is fulfilled], who is deserving of the kind of quality education that will assist him/her to take their rightful place in society,” she added.

 

CAPTION: Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean (left), peruses a book about the Kiwanis Club with President, Kiwanis Club of Downtown Kingston, Mr. Leo Williams, during the Club’s luncheon at the Hotel Four Seasons on Monday (May 7).