OBSERVER: EDUCATION Minister Senator Ruel Reid yesterday warned that strong action will be taken against school administrators and boards that continue to breach the Government’s non-mandatory fee policy.

 

The minister issued the warning against the background of reports that several schools were imposing obligatory fees on students despite the Government providing adequate funding, and in good time, to “cover their operations”.

 

In a reminder to board chairmen and principals of all public and private schools, the ministry referred to earlier bulletins regarding the funding arrangements for infant, primary, all-age and junior high schools, and policy on registration packages for the academic year 2017-2018.

 

According to a release from the ministry, the advisory to schools is that students should not be denied entry because of inability to pay. The policy is that contribution cannot be mandatory and must not be a requirement for registration, school access/attendance or criteria for graduation, examination slips, and application to sixth form or access to any public service at a public educational institution, the release continued. In addition, parents must not be forced to pay any contribution.

 

Senator Reid said the ministry, together with the National Parent Teacher Association of Jamaica, will continue to engage and encourage all parents to make the contribution approved by the boards, PTAs, and the ministry.

 

The release said that the policy includes that: Registration packages for students should range from $1,000 to $5,000 for this school year; schools must ensure that discussions are held with their Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) as it relates to the contribution amount being requested from parents for the period 2017-2018; all boards are expected to sign off on all communication to parents so that there is conformity with the education ministry’s policy.

 

“Repeated breach in relation to the aforementioned will result in strong action against schools and relevant action against the boards of management,” Senator Reid said.

JIS: There has been a 4.2 per cent increase in the number of Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) students who were successful in Mathematics this year, when compared to last year.

 

Assessment Officer in Mathematics, Ministry of Education, Stacy Witter-Bailey, made the announcement during the TANG GSAT Scholarship Awards Luncheon, held  on July 31 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.

 

“Several initiatives have been implemented by the Ministry throughout our schools in an effort to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics,” she pointed out.

 

Now in its sixth year, the Ministry of Education-endorsed TANG GSAT scholarship programme awards the top performing student for Mathematics at the GSAT level from each of the island’s three counties.

 

The scholarships, valued at $50,000 each, are to go toward school-related expenses.

 

The three scholarship recipients achieved an impressive 100 per cent in Mathematics in the recent GSAT. They are: Tivonia Daley of St. Aloysius Primary, who passed for Immaculate Conception High, for the county of Surrey; Kayandra

 

Gooden-Smith of Catherine Hall Primary, for the county of Middlesex, who passed for Montego Bay High; and Arecia Burgess, representing the county of Cornwall, will be moving on from Marley Mount Primary to attend Glenmuir High.

 

Guest speaker at the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of the Child Development Agency (CDA), Rosalee Gage-Grey, congratulated the young scholarship recipients for their achievement and encouraged them to continue to pursue academic excellence in the next stage of their education.

 

She also praised the teachers and parents for their exemplary work with the children, which has resulted in their outstanding performance in the recent exams.

 

“Teaching is one of the most important jobs in our society due to the impact that a good teacher can have on the future of a child. The quality of the scholars here today is a testament to the fact that you have done a great job caring for our children,” she said.

 

Meanwhile, Brand Manager for TANG, Shellian Thompson, told JIS News the scholarship programme has been yielding positive results.

 

“The programme was conceived out of a desire to salute and celebrate our children that are performing well in mathematics,” she said.

 

 

JIS: There has been a 4.2 per cent increase in the number of Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) students who were successful in Mathematics this year, when compared to last year.

 

Assessment Officer in Mathematics, Ministry of Education, Stacy Witter-Bailey, made the announcement during the TANG GSAT Scholarship Awards Luncheon, held  on July 31 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.

 

“Several initiatives have been implemented by the Ministry throughout our schools in an effort to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics,” she pointed out.

 

Now in its sixth year, the Ministry of Education-endorsed TANG GSAT scholarship programme awards the top performing student for Mathematics at the GSAT level from each of the island’s three counties.

 

The scholarships, valued at $50,000 each, are to go toward school-related expenses.

 

The three scholarship recipients achieved an impressive 100 per cent in Mathematics in the recent GSAT. They are: Tivonia Daley of St. Aloysius Primary, who passed for Immaculate Conception High, for the county of Surrey; Kayandra

 

Gooden-Smith of Catherine Hall Primary, for the county of Middlesex, who passed for Montego Bay High; and Arecia Burgess, representing the county of Cornwall, will be moving on from Marley Mount Primary to attend Glenmuir High.

 

Guest speaker at the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of the Child Development Agency (CDA), Rosalee Gage-Grey, congratulated the young scholarship recipients for their achievement and encouraged them to continue to pursue academic excellence in the next stage of their education.

 

She also praised the teachers and parents for their exemplary work with the children, which has resulted in their outstanding performance in the recent exams.

 

“Teaching is one of the most important jobs in our society due to the impact that a good teacher can have on the future of a child. The quality of the scholars here today is a testament to the fact that you have done a great job caring for our children,” she said.

 

Meanwhile, Brand Manager for TANG, Shellian Thompson, told JIS News the scholarship programme has been yielding positive results.

 

“The programme was conceived out of a desire to salute and celebrate our children that are performing well in mathematics,” she said.

 

 

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, is reminding Jamaicans that they have a responsibility under the Child Care and Protection Act to report known and suspected cases of child abuse.

 

He said a 2013 survey by the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), which tested people’s knowledge, attitude, practices and behaviour towards child maltreatment in Jamaica, revealed that 90 per cent of known cases of child abuse remain unreported by the adults, who knew what was going on.

 

“It is alarming to think of the many children who continue to suffer in silence because they either don’t know to whom they should report these matters or are otherwise convinced not to make reports,” Senator Reid said.

 

“We all must see it as an imperative to do what is within our power to ensure that attention is given to children, who fall into these very difficult situations where they are exploited and abused,” he added.

 

He was speaking at the Protect the Children Symposium at The Mico University College in Kingston on July 27.

 

The event was organised by the United States-based Diaspora group, Female Development World Organization, as part of activities for Diaspora Day of Service.

 

The Education Minister further encouraged Jamaicans to make every effort to be informed about the issues and become familiar with the possible signs that a child has or is being abused.

 

He said children affected by abuse can become withdrawn or be extra sensitive to touch for example.

 

“We all have a collective responsibility to our children and we must come together to ensure their protection. Whether it is in our homes, our communities or at the national level, each of us must identify and carry out our roles,” Senator Reid said.

 

President of the Female Development World Organization, Lavern Deer, said the entity “cares about the protection of our children.”

 

She said the symposium was held to draw attention to the issue of child abuse, which affects countries across the globe.

 

She said the United Nations Children’s Fund reports that girls, ages 11 to 17, face the brunt of sexual abuse in Jamaica. In the United States, one in five girls is abused before the age of 18.

 

“What this shows us is that we have a global problem …when it comes to child sex abuse,” she pointed out.

 

Ms. Deer said the organisation was pleased to have partnered with Eve for Life and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in the staging of the symposium.

 

The OCR, which began operations in January 2007, is responsible for receiving, recording and assessing reports of child abuse and referring them to agencies for investigation and action.

 

Data from the OCR reveal that over 60,000 cases of child sexual abuse were reported up to 2015.

 

Persons wishing to make a report to the OCR can call 1-888-PROTECT

 

(1-888-776-8328) or 908-2132, 822-7031, 878-2882, 618-5888, 631-8933 and 631-8908.

 

Persons can also complete a reporting form and submit it to the OCR’s head office at 12 Carlton Crescent, Kingston 10, or fax to 908-2579 or email it to: [email protected].

 

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

 

JIS: Members of the Jamaica Diaspora made donations to the education sector at a session of the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, on July 26.

 

The session was addressed by Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, who highlighted the needs in the education system, and gave an update on the Government’s investment in the sector.

 

Senator Reid also urged the members to partner with the Government to improve the education system.

 

He said a major focus of the Ministry is taking over a number of privately run early childhood institutions that need upgrading.

 

“We will need the Diaspora to continue to give support to improve the infrastructure as much as possible,” the Minister told them.

 

Retired educator, Dr. Hermine Speckles, donated US$2,500, noting that her contribution is a “giving back,” as the Education Ministry helped her with an overseas scholarship.

 

Representative from Caribbean Food Delights, Janice Julian, contacted her senior managers, and got the approval to donate US$2,000.

 

Public-Private Relationship Manager with the National Education Trust (NET), Latoya Harris, informed that other partners on the agency’s Pledge 2 Build initiative ran their own fundraising exercises during the Conference.

 

Some 14 schools at the primary and the secondary levels are slated for repairs by the end of the year through the donations.

 

“People like to see when others have confidence in something, and Pledge 2 Build is an initiative than can make a difference in the lives of thousands of children,” the NET official told JIS News.

 

Director at the Onecare Health Services Inc., Carlton Darby, made a pledge of $250,000 for the West Kingston-based Tivoli Gardens High School.

 

Mr. Darby informed that he, along with several past students, will, in a few weeks, start the implementation of a project to support the school, which includes the mentoring of students.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), is greeted by Chairman of the Jamaica Diaspora Education Task Force, Leo Gillings, on his arrival at yesterday’s (July 26) education forum at the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference, held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

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