GLEANER: The coveted trophies for 2017 ‘teacher of the year’ and ‘principal of the year’ have been won by two Manchester educators.

 

Head of the Business Education Department at the Bishop Gibson High School Ingrid Antoinette Peart-Wilmot was named LASCO/Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Teacher of the Year, while Mandeville Primary and Junior High School’s Howard Salmon was declared principal of the year.

 

Peart-Wilmot boasts over two decades in the classroom at the secondary and adult levels.

 

“It could have easily been anybody so, I was just relieved when my name was called,” said Peart-Wilmot.

 

She established the school’s cosmetology programme in 2015 and is the founder and coordinator of the annual ‘Miss Bishop Gibson Talent and Awareness Pageant’ which amassed a net profit of $700,000 in the previous showing.

 

Salmon has over 30 years in developing productive  students and administrators.

 

“This award is for my students, my teachers, the parents of the school community and most of all, my parents,” Salmon told The Gleaner.

 

In his tenure as principal of the Mandeville Primary and Junior High, he has increased student attendance by 20 per cent through the restoration of student faculty relationship.‎

 

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CAPTION: Teacher of the year Ingrid Antoinette Peart-Wilmot and principal of the year Howard Salmon with their trophies after being named today – Ricardo Makyn/Photographer

 

JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Ministry is committed to the process of transformation through education.

 

He notes that the Ministry has earmarked $153 million to further advance the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme across 70 high schools in the island, and is pushing for TVET to be integrated at the tertiary level.

 

Mr. Green, who was speaking to JIS News at the International Education/TVET Conference on November 30 in Montego Bay, highlighted that there is a direct drive and push from the Ministry, not only from a policy perspective but from a practical side.

 

He said efforts will not only be made to integrate the TVET programmes into high schools but also to communicate to the “tertiary sector that this is the direction”.

 

“We unveiled, last year, occupational degrees, which are really tied into our TVET areas, and what that does is transition our children from level-two certification into an actual degree,” he outlined.

 

Mr. Green lauded the efforts of the Joint Committee on Tertiary Education (JCTE) for hosting the conference as a means of bringing together different players within the educational sector to build partnerships.

 

Meanwhile, he challenged the JCTE to make every effort to re-socialise parents, teachers and students about the importance of skills training, “to move it from the conversation as a secondary form of engagement, as a backup plan, (and) to get some of the best and brightest students into the skill areas”.

 

“We want to ensure that the tertiary student is adaptive, is bold, is confident, innovative and has critical-thinking skills. That is what we want to see from our tertiary students, so that they can easily transition from one field to the next,” he said.

 

The integration of this model, he said, has already contributed to the reduction of youth unemployment and will further result in “a greater match between training and employment”.

 

The JCTE Third International Conference on TVET was held from November 29 to December 1 at the Holiday Inn Resort under the theme ‘Building Educational Partnership through Strategic Leadership, for Institutional Growth, Development and Sustainability: Enhancing Professional Development in Higher Education’.

 

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

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and BAU International University in Washington, D.C. have partnered to provide 107 scholarships for student teachers to pursue undergraduate and graduate programmes at the institution under a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), valued at $378.2 million (US$3 million).

 

The MoU will additionally see the University hiring 200 Jamaican English language teachers for its network of schools located in the United States and several countries globally, for the 2018/19 academic year.

 

The partnership resulted from discussions that Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, had with BAU University Board member, Paul Brunson, in Washington, D.C. between 2016 and earlier this year.

 

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States (US), Her Excellency Audrey Marks, and the Ministry’s newly appointed International Donor Consultant for the Jamaican Diaspora in the US, Gail Dunwell, who works closely with the National Education Trust, were also instrumental in initiating the partnership.

 

Senator Reid, Mr. Brunson and President of Mico University College, another pivotal partner in the engagement, Dr. Asburn Pinnock, signed the MoU on Thursday, November 29. This took place at Mico’s Marescaux Road campus in Kingston.

 

The Minister said the partnership was welcomed in light of the high cost of education, particularly at the tertiary level.

 

Senator Reid said although the Ministry has been increasing funding for the sector, “there is always room for more support”, and in this regard lauded BAU University for partnering with the Government.

 

“This MoU is the beginning of what we expect to be a very long and lasting positive relationship. We are certainly looking at how we can provide more scholarships to our tertiary students, (particularly) our student teachers, and other youth who want to pursue higher education,” the Minister said.

 

For his part, Mr. Brunson said the initiative’s genesis dates back 10 years when he met his late grandfather who he learnt was Jamaican.

 

Mr. Brunson said the knowledge of his heritage was the primary reason why he sought to see how best he could make a tangible and meaningful contribution to Jamaica.

 

To this end, Mr. Brunson said he made representation to the University’s administration and successfully lobbied their support in March 2016 which resulted in the MoU’s crafting.

 

 “So for all these reasons and more, I am excited and I am proud. This, indeed, is only the beginning of this relationship,” he added.

 

In his remarks, Dr. Pinnock, said the initiative was a “perfect fit” with the Government’s national focus for education.

 

“I think this will go a far way in building our resources as we try to graduate more persons from tertiary education in Jamaica. A more educated nation is a more peaceful nation, a more prosperous nation (and) a bigger and better nation,” he added.

 

BAU International University is a private, non-profit tertiary institution that offers undergraduate and graduate programmes in economics, international affairs, entrepreneurship, global affairs, and international law and economics.

 

The Washington, D.C. Campus is part of the BAU Global Network, spanning three continents that has been providing higher education for over 15 years, with offices in Toronto, Canada; Berlin, Germany; and Hong Kong, among other locations.

 

Its flagship campus is Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, Turkey, which has eight faculties, a school of languages, and two vocational schools.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), converses with BAU International University Board Member, Paul Brunson (right), during Thursday’s (November 30) signing of a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) valued $378.2 million (US$3 million) that will facilitate the provision of 107 scholarships to Jamaican student teachers, tenable at BAU which has campuses in the United States and other countries globally. The signing took place at Mico University College in Kingston. Looking on (at centre) is the President of Mico, Dr. Asburn Pinnock.

 

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will be investing $20 million in the construction of a sixth-form block at the Mount St. Joseph Catholic High School in Manchester.

 

The project will include classrooms, science laboratories, two visual arts rooms and space for students who are pursuing courses in engineering, auto mechanics and technical drawing.

 

Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, who toured the Mandeville-based institution recently, said the funds will be provided during the next financial year.

 

Mount St. Joseph, which is a grant-funded school, was opened in the 2014/15 academic year through the collaborative efforts of the Diocese of Mandeville and the Sisters of Mercy. 

 

During the visit, the Minister signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the school administration regarding the grant-aided status of the institution.

 

He also observed work in progress on a grade-nine block to house six classrooms and science and computer laboratories, and a playfield and sports hall. The projects are scheduled for completion by March 2018.

 

The overall building project is expected to ease the congestion that now exists whereby some classes are being held at the nearby Retreat House.

 

Senator Reid said institutions such as Mount St. Joseph can provide some of the much-needed high-school spaces across the island.

 

He noted that while there is excess capacity at the early-childhood and primary levels, there is a shortage of space for secondary school students.   

 

“Ideally, we would need 100 more schools. I am trying to get 17 done in a hurry, starting with five next year,” he noted.

 

The number includes two new schools in Manchester, one in Mile Gully and the other in Fine Grass near Christiana, which will enable the Christiana High School to discontinue the shift system.

The Education Minister informed that talks are under way with two international donors, who are thinking of building institutions in Jamaica that will accommodate students from kindergarten up to age 18.

 

Senator Reid, who also toured the St. John Bosco Career Advancement Institute, said the facility is ideally suited for the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), which prepares students for the world of work. 

 

“With some 35,000 jobs set to come on stream at Alpart  (in St. Elizabeth) – there will be four different kinds of plants making aluminium foil, welding rods and steel – I am making the case that I am looking for institutions to train students,” Mr. Reid said. 

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), interacts with students at Mount St. Joseph Catholic High School in Mandeville, Manchester during a tour of the institution recently.

JIS: Work is under way to retrofit all primary and secondary schools across the island with lifts and ramps to improve access by persons with disabilities.

 

The initiative is being undertaken at a cost of $50 million by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information in collaboration with the Digicel Foundation.

 

“It is in the budget for the next five years,” said portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.

 

“The allocation will make sure that within the next five years, every single public education institution will have either lifts or ramps, so that our children with physical disabilities will have access to these institutions,” he added.

 

He was speaking during the launch of the Abilities Foundation Beauty Services Unit on November 28 at the entity’s Constant Spring Road address in Kingston.

 

Senator Reid reiterated the Government’s commitment to supporting State-owned and -aided special education schools and units across the island, in keeping with its mandate to strengthen services to children with special needs.

 

He called on mainstream schools to develop structures and practices that would allow them to respond fully to a diverse student population.

 

Senator Reid said emphasis is also being placed on integrating the special needs community into the Government’s thrust to develop a national information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure.

 

“We have been exploring how best to integrate persons with disabilities into a system that is increasingly dependent on ICT. Children with disabilities don’t all go to institutions specially designed for them. Sometimes, those with challenges are very much part of the general population, and we have to expand avenues of access for them as well,” he said.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, speaking during the launch of the Abilities Foundation’s Beauty Services Unit on November 28 at the Abilities Foundation’s Constant Spring Road address in Kingston.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information intends to reduce the size of classes at the nation’s schools as part of measures to improve student achievement.

 

“I am working on a budget to do so,” said portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.

 

He was speaking at the launch of a special curriculum for children with learning disabilities held on Tuesday (November 28) at the Randolph Lopez School of Hope in St. Andrew.

 

He said that there is agreement with stakeholders for the establishment of a student-teacher ratio of 1:25 for regular schools and even lower for institutions where there is a concentration of students with special needs.

 

“We have the intellectual knowledge as to what we must do to reach every one of our precious children,” Mr. Reid said, noting that “no one should be left behind”.

 

“Everyone should be treated special. There is an approach to reach every child, there is a customised approach, and that is where we are going,” he added.

 

Assistant Chief Education Officer in charge of the Special Education Unit, Dr. Sharon Anderson Morgan, said the new curriculum, developed in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), came out of a need to provide a syllabus for students with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities that would allow them to “progress at their own pace”.

 

She said the curriculum will foster a higher level of skills in areas such as functionality and academics, and practical areas, which will allow the children to interact appropriately with the wider society.

 

Dr. Anderson Morgan noted that with the new curriculum, students with disabilities will acquire a sense of self-determination, self-advocacy and self-worth.

 

“We are grateful to UNICEF for fueling this dream,” she said while lauding the contribution of other agencies as well as community-based organisations.

 

She invited other entities to partner with the Ministry “as we seek to offer quality special education across the system”.

 

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

 

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says young people are at the heart of the Government’s economic development programme.

 

He noted that policies and programmes have been put in place to fully engage the youth and ensure that they have access to education and training, to take full advantage of opportunities in the country.

 

“We want to make sure that there is no more army of unattached youth,” the Minister said, while addressing Youth Conference 2017 on Monday (November 27) at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

 

He noted that Jamaica has the capacity, once the human potential is developed, to be one of the greatest countries in the world, “and that is the mission of the Administration”.

 

Meanwhile, he assured the young people gathered that there is no need for fear or panic from the introduction of the National Identification System (NIDS).

 

He explained that NIDS is intended to be a secure and reliable system to verify an individual’s identity and will have no negative impact.

 

“This is an advanced system of identification, which is what is likely to be replicated across the world… . We have passed a law, which is an intent into how we want an ID system to work,” the Minister said.

 

He noted that many of the concerns regarding implementation of the system have been addressed, and other matters will be dealt with as the regulations are developed.

 

“All the interest groups, including students; all the church groups; and all the persons who have concerns, you will be allowed to make representation,” he noted.

 

The forum was organised by the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) and included presentations from several agencies and private groups that are working for the development of young people.

 

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

GLEANER: Jamaica may be currently faced with disturbing and alarming incidents of crime and mayhem, but a totally different picture has been painted in schools. A study done this year by the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) shows that there has been significant reduction in major incidents of violence in learning institutions.

 

Reporting on findings that emerged from the 2017 Global School Health Survey and Rapid Situation Assessment, Uki Atkinson, research analyst at NCDA, noted that there has been a drastic decrease in bullying in schools, down from 41 per cent in 2010 to 24 per cent this year. At the same time, physical attacks were at 27 per cent, down from 46 per cent in 2010, while students who reported being in physical fights accounted for 31 per cent, down from 51 per cent.

 

“In looking at the data, we see, for example, that 31 per cent reported being in physical fights and this is, in fact, a reduction when we look at previous years. I thought it would have been the reverse, based on what we are seeing in the society, but based on the data we are seeing, there has, in fact, been improvement,” Atkinson told the gathering at the NCDA’s youth situation forum ‘Protect our Youth, Protect our Future’, which was held at the Pegasus hotel in New Kingston yesterday.

 

“Based on the comparison, between 2010 and 2017 physical injuries and exposure to violence have been on the decline. This could be as a result of health-promotion activities, interventions and so on. Quite a few organisations are doing significant work in our schools.”

 

 MOST STUDENTS ARE NORMAL

 

A similar sentiment was expressed by Assistant Superintendent Coleridge Minto, director of safety in schools at the education ministry, who noted that only five per cent of students display chronic behavioural challenges.

 

“The data is showing that 80 per cent of our students are normal, about 10-15 per cent have some behavioural problems, while one to five per cent have chronic behavioural issues, and these children are the ones you find before the police or CDA (Child Development Agency) or a psychiatrist. Majority of our students are normal,” said Minto.

 

“Violence in schools is actually down. When we look at 2012, there were 915 fights; 2013, 786; and although we only had 16 schools reported for 2016 – I suspect all schools were not reporting as they should – but all the major categories show that we were actually having a decline.”

 

He added, “What has happened is that there will be a major fight in a school today, it is reported all over the media and it looks as if there is an increase, but all the data over the last three to five years has been showing a reduction.”

 

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CAPTION: Dr Michelle Harris (right), adviser on non-communicable disease and mental health PAHO-WHO representation in Jamaica, examines the 2017 Global School Health Survey and Rapid Situation Assessment with (from left) Michael Tucker, executive director of the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA); Dr Myo Oo, senior medical officer of Bellevue Hospital; Dr Kevin Goulbourne, chairman of NCDA; and Uki Atkinson, research analyst, NCDA, at the council’s youth situation forum ‘Protect our Youth, Protect our Future’ at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston, yesterday.

JIS: The National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) is stepping up its efforts to empower parents with the knowledge and skills to effectively raise their children.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, in a statement in the Senate on Friday (Nov. 24), said the entity will roll out a campaign focused on the issue of abuse, beginning with a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to be aired early next week.

 

On December 1, the NPSC will launch its parenting education programme in Region 4, which comprises Westmoreland, Hanover, and St. James.

 

The Education Minister informed that parenting education interventions are now being rolled out to other regions.

 

The Minister’s statement to the Senate comes against the background of recent debate on corporal punishment coming out of videos posted on social media, which showed children being brutally beaten as a form of discipline.

 

The Minister said he was “deeply moved” by the videos, which he said represented “the negative manifestation of the breakdown in the family.”

 

He said that the society cannot condone acts of violence meted out against children in the name of discipline “not in the homes, not in schools and not in the wider society”.

 

“We cannot continue to grow our children this way and expect them to be emotionally well adjusted teenagers growing into mature adults,” he argued.

 

The Minister said the Government “takes these issues (of violence) seriously,” and has undertaken specific action in relation to the videos, offering support and guidance where necessary.

 

 

 

Highlighting the gravity of the matter, Mr. Reid cited statistics from the Office of the Children’s Registry, which show increased reports of physical abuse linked to corporal punishments.

 

A total of 3, 214 physical abuse reports were received in 2014 while 3,639 reports were received in 2015.

 

In addition, the Investigation Unit of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) indicated that close to 2,000 of the matters investigated up to October 2017, were related to physical abuse.

 

The Minister said the lesson that must not be missed coming out of these incidents of abuse is that “our men are largely absent and mothers are often frustrated and stressed.”

 

“There is clear need for us to understand the factors that have driven and influenced parents to plan or not plan for their families’ lives. We cannot ignore the clear signs of danger. We must at this time effect critical interventions to change current and future parental practices for Jamaica,” he said.

 

The Education Minister said the Government has been working to enhance the support it provides to families through various interventions, citing the merger of the Child Development Agency (CDA) and the OCR to create the CPFSA as one such move.

 

The CPFSA gives practical support by offering advice and counselling with a view to improving children’s emotional health and behaviour as well as maintaining stability within families. The agency has an active counselling response team which reaches out to children, families and communities which that experienced trauma from sexual or other forms of violence, disaster or displacement.

 

The CPFSA also engages in community outreach and public education to raise awareness about child rights, child abuse and parenting.

 

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