GLEANER: Partnerships between the Government, corporate Jamaica, and the Diaspora will be the most effective way of producing quality, early childhood educational facilities, Ruel Reid, education minister, has said.

 

“Corporate and Diaspora support is very important as, unfortunately, Government alone cannot do it, and the best model is this kind of partnership and partnership with the community,” said Reid.

 

Reid was among a small touring group, including members of the Diaspora, who visited the Union Gardens Infant School in South St Andrew, yesterday.

 

The school was developed out of an initiative of the Union Gardens Foundation, which was established in 2014 by Glen Christian, chairman of the Cari-Med and Kirk Distributors Group, and Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, chairman of National Baking Company Ltd.

 

The two-year-old institution was constructed at a cost of approximately $174 million through public-private partnership.

 

Reid, who told the diaspora Conference on Monday that 17 new schools were needed to be built across the island to adequately account for the number of spaces necessary, said that the public private partnership arrangement at Union Gardens Infant would be replicated across the island.

 

“This is the perfect model. If the private sector can come and we establish new institutions like this, particularly the decommissioning of basic schools that are not up to standard, build bigger institutions, which this one is, and we have more capacity and the best facilities, this is going to meet the quality standard that we require at the early childhood level,” he said.

 

International Gonation Consolation Group representative for the Diaspora Dr Conrad Ingram told The Gleaner that he took the tour to ascertain what assistance the school still needs in order to fast-track assistance by providing funding.

 

“We are on tour of this wonderful infant school, just looking at what we can do here, to see what the needs are for some of these schools – this one and others – and then we go back to our base in Atlanta and use that as a springboard to raise additional funds to meet these kinds of needs.

 

He said that the school represented a model of what private partnership and the Diaspora can do to uplift the quality of institutions across Jamaica.

 

[email protected]

 

CAPTION: Tevin Carr (foreground) showing off his skills at making a corned beef sandwich to Ruel Reid (left), minister of education; Keisha Cordoza (second left), marketing manager, Kirk Distributors; Gail Dunwell, an overseas donor consultant; and Conrad Ingram, professor of chemistry at Clark Atlanta University in the United States, yesterday.

JIS: Some 50 infant departments are to be established at primary schools across the island under the Early Childhood Rationalisation Programme.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator Ruel Reid, made the disclosure during his presentation at the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, today.

 

Reid said the Early Childhood Commission is currently working with the ministry’s regional team to establish the infant departments.

 

In addition, he said that another 70 per cent of the Early Childhood Institutions are being identified to be budgeted for the 2018/19 financial year.

 

“So, in our new financial programme going forward, we are intent on providing the funding to transition these institutions into full public institutions,” Senator Reid said.

 

The administration allocated $50 million in the budget last year for renovation or modification works in primary schools to create infant departments in 30 schools.

 

Some 28 schools have been completed, and work is in progress on two which are close to completion. Reid informed that another $50 million has been earmarked in this year’s budget to carry out additional renovation works in primary schools to create infant departments.

 

“Fortunately, the population has fallen over recent times by about 20 per cent and we are seizing the opportunity to use the excess capacity within the primary schools to attach infant departments,” he explained.

 

The minister said in the short term, children in all parishes will be provided with access to quality early-childhood infant school services that will positively impact their development.

 

“In the long run, the provision of high quality early childhood education will result in improved student performance at primary and secondary levels and a reduction in the remedial education and social dependence, including welfare and the criminal justice systems,” Reid said.

 

Meanwhile, the minister is encouraging members of the Diaspora to provide support to the Early Childhood sector.

 

He added that this is an area that the Government is targeting, “as we are all aware that the first one thousand days are the most critical in our children’s lives.”

 

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

JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Floyd Green, has dismissed claims that the Ministry has cancelled the August intake for the National Youth Service (NYS).

 

The NYS provides summer jobs for high school and tertiary students.

 

But messages circulating on social media claim that the Ministry of Finance has indicated that the budget for the job programme has been exhausted and the NYS is unable to take on more participants.

 

However, in a series of posts on his official Twitter account Friday, Green said this is not true noting that the NYS has been placing students in jobs and will continue to do so in August.

 

He points out that the ministry decided to begin job placements in June to facilitate more participants, noting that this is the first time that the programme commenced a month early.

 

The state minister says so far almost 12,000 students have been placed in jobs, an increase of approximately 100 per cent compared to last year.

 

Green states that the budget for the summer youth programme has been significantly increased noting that the stipend paid to NYS participants has gone up.

 

He says secondary school students are paid $8,500 per week, up from $6,000.

 

Tertiary students receive a stipend of $10,600 per week, moving from $8,500.

 

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

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, is advising members of the Diaspora to utilise the services of the National Educational Trust (NET) when making donations to the education sector.

 

“Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, in his vision, established this institution to partner directly with the Diaspora and other multilateral donors so you can ensure that there is no red tape in getting your gifts and donations to Jamaica and to the destination schools,” he noted.

 

He was responding to a concern raised by a delegate at the opening day of the Jamaica 55 Diaspora conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, on Monday (July 24).

 

The NET is the agency of the Government of Jamaica that mobilises financial and quality resource investments for schools in Jamaica to achieve greater levels of access to education and learning.

 

Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Managing Director of the NET, Marcia Phillips Dawkins, said persons should send the list of items to the Trust before shipping, so they can be advised of the procedures.

 

“There are specifications for electronic devices like computers, tablets… so we encourage persons to let us know what they are taking and (so we can) tell them if they are appropriate,” she informed.

 

Mrs. Phillips Dawkins said that the donor should also identify the school that the items will go to “and they also have to consign the shipment to NET, so that when it comes to Customs, it can be identified.”

 

“When the items arrive here, Customs advise us and we provide the letter for them to take to the Customs department and the things are cleared hassle free,” she said.

 

She added that when shipping donations through NET, the donor will only pay 50 per cent of the administrative cost and the environment levy.

 

“All the other fees are waived,” Mrs. Phillips Dawkins pointed out.

 

For more information, persons can call NET at 967- 9007 or send an email to [email protected]

 

NET is one of the exhibitors at the Diaspora Marketplace, which is part of the Diaspora Conference.

 

The marketplace, which will operate for the duration of the conference, will provide for active business interactions.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (2nd left), converses with (from left): Chair, Lifelong Leadership Institute, Toronto Canada, Trevor Massey; Lead, Jamaica Diaspora Foundation Education Task Force, United States, Leo Gilling; and Professor and Vice-Chair Basic Sciences, Division of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Dr. Hansel Fletcher. They were at Monday’s (July 24) session of the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

GLEANER: After two previous attempts, the draft National Plan of Action for an Integrated Response to Children and Violence (NPACV) was unveiled yesterday, with a pledge for the final document to be produced within the next six months.

 

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Floyd Green, said that the plan has been a long time coming. He is hoping that it can go before Cabinet in the next few months.

 

“We have been at the preparation stage for a draft plan of action for violence against our children since 2002,” he said.

 

“It is an indictment on all of us, definitely an indictment on Government across both sides; but more important, it is an indictment on what we should have done to protect our children and what we could have done during that time,” he asserted.

 

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY PLAN

 

 

Chairman of the Child Development Agency (CDA) Children’s Advisory Panel Mathew McHayle is hoping that the NPACV will be revolutionary as he wants to think about the future of Jamaica without becoming sad.

 

“I want to encourage you, as well, to make it all about us, the children,” he urged during a workshop to discuss the plan at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge and Conference Centre at the University of the West Indies, Mona, yesterday.

 

Chairperson of the Violence Prevention Alliance Dr Elizabeth Ward said that a data-driven approach and collaboration are needed as the country seeks to address violence against children.

 

“What we know is that over 66 per cent of our cases of sexual assault involve children under the age of 18,” she said.

 

“Unfortunately, too many of our children are falling between the cracks,” she noted.

 

Chief executive officer of the CDA Rosalee Gage-Grey said that the plan provides a coordinated and structured approach to addressing issues and challenges being experienced by children.

 

“The core objective is to reduce the impact of violence against children through an integrated approach to prevention, control, intervention, responses, monitoring, and evaluation so that the rights of children may be preserved and an environment created for the stimulation of their positive growth and development,” she said.

 

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

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the education sector has been undergoing a transformation process to make it more practical, relevant and flexible in response to the critical needs of industry.

 

“It is imperative that leaders in the public education system keep themselves updated on the new directions in education and training across the globe, and are themselves flexible enough to be change agents and are committed to enabling those they supervise and manage to be integral in the process,” he said.

 

The Minister was speaking at the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) Regional Leadership Development Conference for public sector leaders, at the Pegasus Hotel, on July 19.

 

Senator Reid noted that in the past decade, almost every institution or firm has had to transform how they are organised and operate, taking into account the speed and content of information flow.

 

He argued that within such scenarios, an adaptive leader must be sensitive to reading the signals from below and be prepared to act on them within reasonable time.

 

“The education sector has multiple layers of interests and thousands of stakeholders. Its leaders at various levels have to communicate their vision and their expectation, as well as national and institutional policies and seek to get others to support them. It is a big challenge,” Senator Reid said.

 

The Minister added that a leader should be willing to be adaptive, while at the same time be committed to fair play.

 

“Everyone should know the principles that guide decisions and be aware of institutional policy. Not everyone will support a decision, but there should be no confusion about how that decision was reached,” Mr. Reid said.

 

He emphasised that a leader must operate with integrity and credibility, noting that failure in this area undermines everything else.

 

He also noted that a leader must be willing to be retrained and must be committed to capacity building and “helping the team to develop on individual strengths for the greater good of the organisation.”

 

The two-day conference is being held under the theme: ‘Adaptive Public Sector Leadership, Changing MINDsets, Challenging Assumptions, Creating Transformation’.

 

GLEANER: The Government will be seeking to implement a number of programmes, in partner-ship with Japanese educational institutions, as part of an integrated approach to safety and security in the local school curriculum.

 

Addressing yesterday’s post Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House, Education Minister Ruel Reid announced that partnerships have been established with universities and high schools in Japan for the development and offering of programmes on disaster science and green engineering, as well for the setting up of a new science school in the island.

 

“This approach will be utilised to engage students to learn strategies for disaster management. This approach will also demonstrate the right strategies they would use to protect themselves and their families,” Reid said.

 

The minister added that the partnerships with the Japanese institutions would ensure that Jamaicans have a wide knowledge of strategies to use, in the event of a disaster, after noting how Japan utilises those approaches within its schools.

 

“What Japan is doing could be utilised across the world globally, and so we have integrated this within our school curriculum so we can utilise appropriately,” he said.

 

Reid stated that this was another important aspect for the development and improvement of schools within Jamaica.

 

– Delion Bowes

 

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

JIS: For as long as he can remember, Yohan Smith has wanted to join the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and become a “good soldier” like his father.

 

“I see my father as a successful member of the JDF and I would love to follow in his footsteps and have a successful career myself,” he tells JIS News.

 

The young man from Linstead, St. Catherine, is taking the first step in fulfilling his lifelong dream. He was among the first batch of 250 recruits for the National Service Corps (NSC) programme.

 

The brainchild of Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, the NSC aims to create an avenue for young people, ages 18 to 23, to be fully empowered through national service.

 

Over a one-year period, the youngsters will undergo a modified version of the JDF’s traditional basic military training and receive on-the-job instruction in various aspects of the JDF’s operations such as the Coast Guard, Air Wing and engineering.

 

They will also benefit from vocational and life skills training.

 

Upon completion, the participants will be given the opportunity to continue on as soldiers in the JDF or join the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Department of Correctional Services or become security guards.

 

The NSC recruits will be remunerated accordingly, be separate in identity and fully provided for in law.

 

Yohan tells JIS News that he heard about the programme through friends and after further research on the Internet he decided to sign up.

 

He says he is pleased with the opportunity provided for skills training. “I am glad to be a part of it. It’s a wonderful initiative and I want to be a part of the change that everybody talks about,” he adds.

 

Another participant, Christopher Golding from Bog Walk, says he heard about the programme while applying for the regular JDF corps.

 

“There’s a lot of opportunity there. You get to learn a lot of skills and gain knowledge. This is a good step for me,” he notes.

 

Jaydon Coombs of Hope Bay, Portland, says at the end of the training he hopes to be selected for the JDF.

 

“I have loved the army since I was a little boy. I decided to apply for this programme because of the skills it offers that will help me in the future. It will help me if I leave the army, I have the skills to pursue another career,” he points out.

 

Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Media Affairs Officer at the JDF, Lieutenant Aaron Gabriel, explains that interested persons will have to fulfil the requisite medical requirements and pass an entrance test to participate in the programme.

 

“We require that the (persons) be free from any disability. They must have perfect vision, not colour blind, they don’t have any asthma or any other ailments that may prevent them from being able to go through the rigours of training,” he informs.

 

Lt. Gabriel notes that the aim is to train 1,000 persons per year, with 250 persons per cohort.

 

“While the first cohort is in training, recruitment is going on for the second cohort. So at any point in time, we would have at least two cohorts in training. The JDF is always recruiting. If someone wants to apply, they can go to our website which is www.jdfweb.com and just click on the link that says join the JDF,” Lt. Gabriel points out.

 

He informs that the training provided under the NSC programme is broken down into three phases.

 

During phase one, participants will undergo basic military training such as first aid, foot drill, military tactics and land navigation. Recruits will also be exposed to stress management, harassment training, conflict resolution and financial management.

 

“During the second phase of the training, they will be introduced to different employment opportunities within the JDF such as engineering, working at the Air Wing, working at the JDF Coast Guard. While they are doing this on-the-job training, they would be brought up to speed with technical skills required to operate within the areas,” Lt. Gabriel says.

 

“(For) the third phase, they would really be putting everything that they would have learned over the prior two phases into action and having a more hands-on experience within the force,” he explains.

 

Lt. Gabriel says the NSC can be seen as an avenue through which persons can provide direction in their life or serve their country.

 

“So, it is to take those persons who want some direction, give them some skills, give them something that when they have finished the training, they are able to make a meaningful contribution, maybe in some other public sector entity or possibly in the civilian world,” he notes.

 

“Ultimately, we want to take youngsters, give them some practical training and some work experience and then send those people back out into the world so they can have a better impact,” he adds.

 

The Prime Minister Holness, who spoke to the youngsters at Up Park Camp recently, said the success of the programme will depend on the participants.

 

“How you take on to training, how you take on to national service, how you maintain the discipline and high standards of the army, how you maintain the spirit of the army and how you give back to the society. This will determine whether or not the programme is a success,” he points out.

 

The NSC is part of the Learn, Earn, Give back and Save (LEGS) Programme, which aims to assist young people who, by virtue of their circumstances, have become unattached.

 

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

 

CAPTION: The first group of 250 recruits, who will benefit from military, vocational and life skills training over a one-year period under the National Service Corps (NSC) Programme.

OBSERVER:  Some 900 primary level teachers from Jamaica, Belize and Barbados will be trained in best practices in Mathematics at an upcoming workshop hosted in Jamaica.

 

The event dubbed “Amazing Mathematics Powers (AMP)…PR1MED for Success”,  is being staged by The Book Merchant Limited in partnership with The Jamaica Teaching Council and Shortwood Teachers’ College,  and will be hosted at Shortwood Teachers’ College in St Andrew from August 21-24.

 

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has lauded Amazing Mathematics Powers as an innovative initiative “which is consistent with our efforts to improve teacher and teaching quality — a critical factor to improving student performance”.

 

Amazing Mathematics Powers will focus on best practices using the Education Ministry-approved PR1ME Mathematics programme which is based on the highly successful Singaporean method. 

 

Scholastic’s professional development specialist and lead PR1ME Mathematics trainer, Kelly Lim Kai Ling, will travel from Singapore to head the Mathematics sessions. 

 

Since 2014, some 2,000 primary school mathematics teachers, coaches, specialists in Jamaica and the Caribbean have been trained under this initiative.