JIS: Recipients of the 2019 Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for Service to Education are being hailed for their extraordinary commitment and dedication to shaping the lives and sharpening the minds of the nation’s children over many decades.

 

This praise comes from Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, who presented the 40 outstanding educators with their awards during a ceremony on the lawns of Jamaica House on Wednesday (June 26).

 

The recipients, with 1,250 years in combined contribution to Jamaica’s education system, have served from the early-childhood sector to the post-secondary level.

 

Mr. Holness noted that the awards ceremony shows appreciation “for their commitment and service and the difference that they have made and continue to make in the lives of our children and, ultimately, the future of Jamaica”.

 

“Each, no doubt, has a unique style that has allowed them to impart knowledge to their students in a manner that awakens their intellectual curiosity, stimulates their appetite for learning and fuels them to engage in nation-building across various sectors,” he said.

 

In his remarks, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda, noted that educators, whether in the classroom or in administration, “have helped to shape the character of students through the values imparted and in helping them to awaken their dreams and aspirations”.

 

“Your work and sacrifices have enabled many students, who might have otherwise given up on themselves, to catch a vision of what they could achieve and to apply themselves to accomplishing these goals,” he said.

 

Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, Dr. Grace McLean, noted the value of the annual awards scheme in giving proper recognition and acknowledgement to a group of persons who “have devoted their lives and time in service to our country”.

 

“It is a selfless and often thankless task, without which this country would neither improve nor prosper… . It is [through education]… that we are able to have direct contact with our children, that we are able to mold them and train them to create a population and a workforce that is conscious, hard-working, honest and full of integrity,” she said.

 

The Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for Service to Education is awarded to teachers with a minimum of 15 years’ service to education in Jamaica, whose contributions are deemed outstanding.

 

To be considered for the award, recipients must have shown evidence of community involvement, including participation in civic and club activities.

 

CAPTION ONE: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left), presents an award to Retired Principal of the Black River High School in St. Elizabeth, Barrington Buchanan. Occasion was the 2019 Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for Service to Education held on the lawns of Jamaica House on Wednesday (June 26).

 

CAPTION TWO: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (third right, front row), with the 40 recipients of the 2019 Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for Service to Education, following the presentation ceremony on the lawns of Jamaica House on Wednesday (June 26). Also pictured (in front row, from second left) are Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, Dr. Grace McLean; State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge; and Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda; Their Excellencies the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, and Lady Allen; Rev. Ronald Thwaites representing Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Peter Phillips; and award recipient and Retired Principal of the Black River High School in St. Elizabeth, Barrington Buchanan.