OBSERVER: IN an effort to bolster educational outcomes across the island, the Ministry of Education has earmarked $34 billion that will go directly into the coffers of secondary level institutions over the just-begun academic year.

 

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer in a one-on-one on Tuesday, Minister of Education Senator Ruel Reid advised that the Government is committed to fuelling and funding the sector with the resources needed to secure a Jamaican workforce ready to take on the opportunities that will become available.

 

In an unprecedented move, the minister released a report of the allocation to high schools across the six regions of the ministry. The report indicates that the majority of institutions are being allocated more than $220 million each for the academic year 2017/18, with a few institutions in regions one, five and six identified to receive in excess of $300 million each.

 

Norman Manley High, Excelsior High and Kingston College top the allocations in Region One. For Region Two, Seaforth, St Mary and Titchfield high schools lead that region, having been allocated more than $245 million each. Brown’s Town, Ocho Rios and Marcus Garvey high schools lead Region Three, with St James, Black River and Old Harbour high schools being allocated the most money in regions four through six, respectively.

 

The allotments include operational grants, regular subvention, as well as support for infrastructure, maintenance, safety, ICT, staffing, among other things.

 

Notably, approximately $2 billion has been included across all regions for the feeding programme under the auspices of the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education.

 

The minister spoke to the belief that there exists a budgetary fallout after the ministry’s insistence on a cap on parents’ contribution and the elimination of mandatory fees to institutions.

 

“If you look at the total parent contribution, it was approximately $1.2 billion… we could easily argue that, technically, if all the parent contributions were collected, the new allocations would have covered that entirely; and yet they are still getting some parent contribution,” he said.

 

He continued that schools will acknowledge, and the data will support it, that “half of the total parent contribution collected came only from Region One; it’s only there in that area that there was any real compliance”.

 

He stressed, therefore, that the other five regions would now be “benefiting tremendously from the policy”.

 

“I know schools want more and more, and they have some needs, but as a ministry we still have to have a policy; we can’t have a free-for-all and no control. The sector must have order,” he said.

 

Senator Reid indicated that, “There is no such realisation that an income stream had been closed for schools. This is [the] second year, and that has not happened.”

 

He indicated that schools are encouraged to prepare and present budgets that reflect the support need for their programmes and they will see the funding is in place and the programmes are run by “labour support”.

 

“Overall, I think it is a great win-win, as schools now have a set of funding that insulates them,” Reid explained.

 

“We have given them funds to run the core programme, and they have substantially more resources to cover this.”

 

In reference to the allocation per student, Minister Reid said: “The $19,000 was a reference point, but we have had to give support to TVET (Technical And Vocational Education and Training), science, and other programmes; staffing included.

 

“All this has been done within the budget that we were given. It all has to do with how creative Dr McLean [chief education officer] and the team have been to deliver what we considered to be the responsibility for the Government.”

 

Minister Reid made sure to add that the primary schools had not been left out.

 

“We have increased grants to primary schools by some 169 per cent. We have been fixing up their canteens. They have already got increases for their janitorial services and maintenance. We’ve spent over $554 million in the improvement of the physical space for primary schools.

 

“We [are] working on more resources for safety and security in those schools. We can’t do everything overnight, but we working on it,” he said.

 

Reid reinforced that it was a promise of his Government to support education across the island and to raise the educational outcomes and available opportunities for access to especially at-risk youth.

 

“What we don’t want is for finances to be any sort of barrier to student access to programmes. We are committed to this, we have allocated the funding, and see that the institutions receive it in a timely manner,” he said.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education Senator Ruel Reid speaking with the Jamaica Observer at his Heroes’ Circle offices in Kingston.

JIS: Work is now complete for the merger of the Child Development Agency (CDA) and the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), and is awaiting approval by Cabinet.

 

Making the disclosure, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says by the end of October, the “merger will be operationalized”, while work continues on the legal aspects of the entities.

 

In an interview with JIS News, the State Minister said both the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, and the Public Sector Transformation Unit gave feedback on the structure of the new entity, and all the changes have been shared with critical partners.

 

“Those have been finalised, and we expect that within a few weeks, Cabinet will sign off on the approval,” he informed, adding that the two agencies are now operating on a parallel basis as they await a formal decision by the Cabinet.

 

In January, the Government appointed a committee chaired by University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Director, Michael McAnuff-Jones, to streamline the services offered by the agencies, and as part of forward planning, the CDA and the OCR recently met at a retreat and agreed on a strategic three-year plan, in keeping with the objectives of the new-look agency.

 

“We are in the process of circulating that draft strategic plan among staff members,” Mr. Green said, noting that work is far advanced for the reallocation of spaces.

 

“The changes are holistic. This is a complete reorganisation of divisions, the creation of a new department, as well as strengthening the internal efficiencies and accountability, to ensure that the agency functions with secrecy and in a timely manner,” the State Minister explained.

 

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

JIS: In light of recent reports of bullying among students and the traumatic impact on the victims, the Child Development Agency (CDA) is imploring parents to engage their children on a deeper level.

 

“It is important that parents have frequent dialogue with their children and ask the right questions,” advises marketing and public relations manager at the CDA, Rochelle Dixon.

 

Dixon said the agency had been getting calls from concerned parents and has executed a number of interventions in different institutions. She noted, however, that the victims may not necessarily reach out for assistance until the case becomes extremely severe.

 

She said that there are a number of telltale signs that parents may look for to determine whether something is amiss with the child.

 

“Your child may express a desire to stay away from school. There may be changes in the child’s mood and behaviour pattern. He or she may be apprehensive about discussing what happens in class, as well as other stress-induced symptoms may present themselves,” she explained.

 

A United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)/CDA study conducted in 2015 found that six in 10 students report being bullied at some point in their lives, with the majority of cases occurring at school.

 

Dixon is encouraging parents to forge partnerships with the teachers and guidance counsellors at the schools their children attend and report incidents to the school’s administration. Additional support may also be had by reaching out to the CDA.

 

CAPTION: A United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF)/Child Development Agency study conducted in 2015, found that six in 10 students report being bullied at some point in their lives, with the majority of cases occurring at school.

 

JIS: The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) will officially become Caribbean Maritime University on World Maritime Day, September 28, at an official Charter Day ceremony to be held at the National Arena in Kingston.

 

This follows passage of relevant legislation in Parliament earlier this year to grant the institution university status and to confer degrees, awards, certificates, diplomas and other academic distinctions.

 

The Charter Day ceremony, which will be open to the public, will get under way at 3:00 pm, ending at approximately 10:00 pm with fireworks and a logo burn that will be visible across the capital city.

 

More than 5,000 persons are expected to attend, including several regional heads of state and other officials from around the world.

 

Among the guests will be the university’s first Chancellor, His Royal Majesty King Drolor Bosso Adamtey I, king of one of the largest tribes in Ghana.

 

Included in the Charter Day activities will be the installation of a president and a deputy president.

 

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (September 19), Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, said with university status, the governance structure of the institution will change.

 

“There is a transition policy as enshrined in the (Caribbean Maritime University) Act, so we are moving from a Board to a council and from an executive director to a president. The current Board becomes the council and the existing executive director, unless otherwise so determined, will now become the first president of the new university,” he explained.

 

The university, which was established in 1980 with 30 students, has grown significantly over the years. Enrolment increased from 300 students in 2007 to just under 5,000 in 2017.

 

Senator Reid, in hailing the growth as “remarkable”, noted that according university status is a natural step as the institution establishes itself as a leader in its class.

 

“I don’t think we’ve had another tertiary institution that has grown as exponentially as CMI, but it’s exciting for all of us. This is another layer of the growth prospects that we seek in Jamaica. We are making the connections with education, training and industry, and this is a massive part of our armoury in transforming the Jamaican education and economic landscape,” he pointed out.

 

The Minister noted further that the granting of university status will, among other things, allow for the CMI to access global grant funding from various agencies and entities worldwide, which will enable the institution to better administer its functions and perform its role as a national economic driver through education, training and certification.

 

The CMI continues to make a significant contribution to the Jamaican economy by bridging the employment gap, with approximately 85 per cent of CMI graduates being placed in jobs within six months of graduation.

 

The Palisadoes-based institution is the only international entity approved for maritime training in Jamaica, with 80 per cent of the teaching/support personnel and 50 per cent of the board of directors drawn from organisations within the industry.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, addresses a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (September 19).

JIS: The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) will officially become Caribbean Maritime University on World Maritime Day, September 28, at an official Charter Day ceremony to be held at the National Arena in Kingston.

 

This follows passage of relevant legislation in Parliament earlier this year to grant the institution university status and to confer degrees, awards, certificates, diplomas and other academic distinctions.

 

The Charter Day ceremony, which will be open to the public, will get under way at 3:00 pm, ending at approximately 10:00 pm with fireworks and a logo burn that will be visible across the capital city.

 

More than 5,000 persons are expected to attend, including several regional heads of state and other officials from around the world.

 

Among the guests will be the university’s first Chancellor, His Royal Majesty King Drolor Bosso Adamtey I, king of one of the largest tribes in Ghana.

 

Included in the Charter Day activities will be the installation of a president and a deputy president.

 

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (September 19), Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, said with university status, the governance structure of the institution will change.

 

“There is a transition policy as enshrined in the (Caribbean Maritime University) Act, so we are moving from a Board to a council and from an executive director to a president. The current Board becomes the council and the existing executive director, unless otherwise so determined, will now become the first president of the new university,” he explained.

 

The university, which was established in 1980 with 30 students, has grown significantly over the years. Enrolment increased from 300 students in 2007 to just under 5,000 in 2017.

 

Senator Reid, in hailing the growth as “remarkable”, noted that according university status is a natural step as the institution establishes itself as a leader in its class.

 

“I don’t think we’ve had another tertiary institution that has grown as exponentially as CMI, but it’s exciting for all of us. This is another layer of the growth prospects that we seek in Jamaica. We are making the connections with education, training and industry, and this is a massive part of our armoury in transforming the Jamaican education and economic landscape,” he pointed out.

 

The Minister noted further that the granting of university status will, among other things, allow for the CMI to access global grant funding from various agencies and entities worldwide, which will enable the institution to better administer its functions and perform its role as a national economic driver through education, training and certification.

 

The CMI continues to make a significant contribution to the Jamaican economy by bridging the employment gap, with approximately 85 per cent of CMI graduates being placed in jobs within six months of graduation.

 

The Palisadoes-based institution is the only international entity approved for maritime training in Jamaica, with 80 per cent of the teaching/support personnel and 50 per cent of the board of directors drawn from organisations within the industry.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, addresses a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (September 19).

JIS: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says that schools across the island will be mandated to institute a physical activity programme for students at all levels.

 

“They must have… a programme for exercise that promotes good, healthy lifestyles for all grade levels. From grades seven right through to 13, and certainly at the early-childhood institutions, we will be promoting good health,” he said.

 

Mr. Reid was speaking to JIS News at Cumberland High School in Portmore, St. Catherine, on September 19, as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Jamaica observed the World’s Largest Lesson (WLL) 2017.

 

The Minister noted that recently, Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, revealed that there is a “very high level of obesity” in Jamaica, with close to “42 per cent of the population considered obese”. This, he noted is “very worrying”.

 

“We also learnt from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) that about 30 per cent of our population has high blood pressure. A lot of the high blood pressure and the obesity have to do with what we eat, and so this (physical activity programme) is important,” he pointed out.

 

In keeping with the healthy-lifestyle programme for schools, Mr. Reid informed that the policy on nutrition for canteens is expected to be completed by the end of the Christmas term.

 

“We would like school canteens to have certain amounts of calories in each of the products and meals they are serving. How you manage your nutrition is the amount of calories you are (consuming),” he said.

 

The WLL seeks to introduce the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), also known as the Global Goals, to children and young people.

 

The 17 SDGs are condensed in three objectives – end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change.

 

UNICEF hopes to achieve the objectives within the next 15 years, and encourages schools around the world to teach a lesson or assemble to introduce or remind students of the Goals and get them to think about how they can help in achieving them.

 

Quality Education Specialist with UNICEF, Dr. Rebecca Tortello Greenland, said for this year’s WLL the focus is on SDG three, which speaks to hunger, good health and well-being.

 

Under the theme ‘Every Plate Tells a Story’, children are invited to consider

 

how their food choices impact the SDGs and to pledge to make changes.

 

These include healthy eating, reducing wastage, eliminating the use of plastic packaging, and sourcing food closer to home.

 

“Really, what we in Jamaica as UNICEF are trying to do, and my colleagues elsewhere, is to get teachers to have fun exploring the bank of material that exists on the SDGs,” she said.

 

Dr. Tortello Greenland noted that lessons exist in the SDGs, which are age-appropriate for students from early childhood to high school.

 

The Minister, while at Cumberland High, spoke to the grade-seven class about the SDGs and how they can make an impact.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (3rd left) and Quality Education Specialist, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Dr. Rebecca Tortello Greenland (2nd right), observe as grade-seven students at Cumberland High School complete a written activity. Occasion was UNICEF’s observance of the World’s Largest Lesson (WLL) 2017 at the institution in Portmore, St. Catherine, on September 19. The students (from left) are Kamal Malcolm, Jah-mealla Baker and Annmarie Baker.

 

JIS: Six hundred delegates from nine countries are expected for the 2017 Youth Climate Change Conference, slated for October 10 and 11, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

 

The event will bring together persons from Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Japan for two days of consultations and discussions aimed at heightening their awareness of climate change and identifying youth-led actions and solutions to the challenges associated with this phenomenon.

 

Participants will be engaged in a series of climate advocacy training workshops, presentations, exhibitions and competitions to increase their awareness of the various challenges and proposed solutions.

 

Cash prizes, vouchers, tablets, agricultural equipment and trophies will be awarded to the individual participants, educational/youth organisations and teachers scoring the most points in the competitions.

 

Additionally, three delegates from the participating Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to attend the 2017 United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of Parties (COP 23), which is slated for Germany in November.

 

The youth conference is being co-hosted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Jamaica Rural Economy and Ecosystems Adapting to Climate Change II (Ja REEACH II) Project and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Japan Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information.

 

The conference was launched at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters, Mona, St. Andrew, on Tuesday, September 12.

 

In a message read by Director of Communications and Marketing, National Youth Service, Julia Smiley Green, Education, Youth and Information State Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, said this year’s conference bears special significance in light of the severe weather events that impacted several small island states within recent weeks.

 

“While there has been a growing awareness of how we are all being affected, recent events would have brought home the reality more forcefully, to our consciousness, of our growing vulnerability to climate change. The devastation of coastlines in northeastern Caribbean territories, Cuba and The Bahamas by Hurricane Irma is but the latest reminder of the danger we all face,” he said.

 

In this regard, Mr. Green stressed the importance of youth involvement in and understanding of global climate-change issues and their impact on the region, in tackling these challenges.

 

“Our young people will, more than ever, (need to) play a bigger role in how our world adapts to these challenges. Young people are quite adept at spreading new habits and technologies at their disposal (and) are well placed to contribute to the fight against climate change. For this, they must be fully aware of what global warming is and what needs to be done to prevent it,” he said.

 

In her remarks, Acting USAID Mission Director in Jamaica, Rebecca Robinson, said succession planning in dealing with extreme weather events, with an emphasis on youth involvement, is critical to spearheading future action against climate change.

 

“Jamaican youth are responding to the call. This is evidenced, not only in the high levels of participation in the previously held conferences in 2014 and 2015, but by a continued formation of youth interest groups focused on climate change and environment issues at the local, regional and international levels,” she said.

 

Ja REEACH II project is a four-year initiative implemented by ACDI/VOCA, which works with government, private sector, civil society and community-based organisations to increase awareness and application of practical actions to make Jamaicans more aware of and resilient to the impact of climate change.

 

CAPTION: Director of Communication and Marketing, National Youth Service, Julia Smiley Green (left), converses with United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Bruno Pouezat, during the launch for the Youth Conference on Climate Change (YCCC) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters, Mona, St. Andrew, on Tuesday, September 12. The two-day conference is slated for October 10 and 11 at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Ministry is committed to driving a process whereby every youth in Jamaica will attain the equivalent of an associate degree by the end of grade 13.

 

He said that adequate opportunities are available for every student to remain in the education system for the additional two years.

 

“Some of the programmes we have to take them to grade 13 are the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), Alternative Pathway to Secondary Education; we have programmes under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme – National Youth Service (NYS), where we are merging that into the HEART/Trust NTA programme with the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL).”

 

“So…we don’t want to have our vulnerable youth being left behind. We’ve put all of the agencies together so it can catch everybody,” Minister Reid said.

 

He was speaking at the Children of Jamaica Outreach (COJO) Inc.’s scholarship awards luncheon held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Wednesday, (September 13).

 

The Education Minister noted that the qualification and certification attained at the end of grade 13 will enable more students to qualify for tertiary studies or join the workforce.

 

“We have 15 per cent of our workforce having full tertiary certification, but my ambition is education opportunity for all. It means that every youth will have that opportunity for self-actualisation… and we will have no one falling behind, adding to the army of unattached youth that creates all the kind of negative problems that we have in our society,” he said.

 

“Persons will be able to find quality employment earning high levels of income that will lead to the growth, development and prosperity of our country,” he added.

 

At the luncheon, six former wards of the State, who are pursuing degrees at the tertiary level, were awarded scholarships totalling US$22,500 by COJO, which is a diaspora charity based in New York.

 

They are Chantell Campbell, Shantanna Dixon, Aaron Rowe, Kareem Carr, Nickorta Samuels and Gold-Mae Bullock.

 

Minister Reid informed that the Government will be paying the cost for wards of the State and students on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) and to sit eight subjects in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

 

He assured the State wards that “once you are earnestly pursuing your educational objectives, we support you right through to university and assist you in transitioning into independent living to find a good job”.

 

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

GLEANER: The parish of St Ann has been identified as the area most urgently in need of additional schools as the Ministry of Education makes plans to build five additional schools throughout the island over the next three years.

 

Education Minister Ruel Reid, in an interview with The Gleaner, said that quick infrastructural development is needed in a number of schools, noting that Old Harbour in St Catherine, Manchester, and St James are additional areas that are high on the agenda.

 

“We will also have to target St Ann, specifically the north-west area. That whole Ocho Rios area has some constraints, for example, Ocho Rios (High School) is on shift, in addition to the Marcus Garvey (High School) and Brown’s Town High School. One of the problems, of course, is that the population is shifting and people are going into the Ocho Rios, St Ann area, so there’s really a serious shortage in that area,” he said.

 

Stressing the ministry’s commitment to having 100 per cent placement of all students in full high schools next year, he said the expansion would go a far way in eradicating shift systems.

 

“Of course, in St James, we’ll need another school. This is to ameliorate the crisis that we currently have, particularly as it relates to taking the schools off shift. We are proud of the fact, however, that next year, we will be able to have all students in a full high-school programme. This year is the first that we have been able to place 99 per cent of our students in a full high-school programme, next year, we will be able to do 100 per cent,” Reid told The Gleaner.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education Ruel Reid

 

JIS: More than 400 deaf students in primary and secondary schools are to benefit from a US$2.7-million project aimed at increasing their literacy levels.

 

The three-year Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project is being implemented by the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

Launched on Wednesday (September 13) at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston, the three-year initiative is being rolled out in nine schools operated by the major service providers of deaf education in Jamaica.

 

These are the Danny Williams School for the Deaf; Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf; and Excelsior Primary School Integrated Unit for the Deaf in Kingston; Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf – Kingston and Mandeville campuses; Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf, St. James; May Pen Unit for the Deaf, Clarendon; Port Antonio Unit for the Deaf, Portland; and St.

 

Christopher’s School for the Deaf, St. Ann.

 

A key objective is to facilitate the development of a Jamaican Sign Language (JSL) curriculum that will be incorporated in schools for the deaf by 2020.

 

Keynote speaker at the event, State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, commended the initiative, which, he said, will ensure greater inclusiveness for the deaf community.

 

He hailed the effort to have JSL as a subject in schools across the deaf community by 2020.

 

“To achieve that means that you will have developed a curriculum that can be used in our schools for our hearing-impaired children and can be shared across all our schools. From our perspective at the Ministry, that is critical if we are to ensure that no child is left behind,” he said.

 

Acting Mission Director for USAID, Rebecca Robinson, who brought greetings at the event, noted that the project will assist in developing the capacity of the hearing-impaired community, thereby enabling them to make a meaningful contribution to national development.

 

“The evidence suggests that the deaf has been an underserved population with limited educational opportunities. The timing of this project is impeccable, as it seeks to address the factors that affect language development of deaf students and build a strong foundation for literacy and academic success. Also, it helps to enhance the skills of students, parents and teachers in JSL,” she said.

 

The Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project got under way in April 2017 and will run until April 2020.

 

In addition to increasing the literacy levels of students and establishing a JSL curriculum, the project will also build the capacity of teachers and empower parents to effectively communicate with their children.

 

One hundred educators of the deaf and 27 deaf culture facilitators/teacher aides serving the deaf community will receive support, and the project will also provide employment opportunities for deaf persons as tutors.

 

The USAID provided a US$2.4-million grant for the undertaking with the remaining US$300,000 contributed by the JAD and its stakeholders.

 

Operating since 1938, the JAD is a non-governmental organisation, which empowers deaf Jamaicans to become effective nation builders.

 

Persons interested in learning JSL can contact the JAD at 970-1778/9, or visit www.jamdeaf.org.jm for more information.

 

CAPTION: State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, the Hon. Floyd Green (right), spells his name in sign language at the launch of the Partnership for Literacy Enhancement for the Deaf Project on Wednesday (September 13) at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston. Looking on are Chairman of the Executive Board of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD), Christopher Williams; and Acting Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Rebecca Robinson.