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A total of 24,245 students are enrolled in the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Sixth-Form Pathways Programme (SFPP) for the 2022/23 academic year.

The number represents a 21 per cent increase in enrolment over last year’s figure of 19,122.

“We will continue to monitor and look for new ways to engage students, especially those in the tertiary space who have demonstrated the aptitude for managing a more flexible arrangement where they can continue their education while being a part of the workforce on a part-time basis,” Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said.

She was making her contribution to the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 17.

Minister Williams said that the programme is being offered in 167 high schools and 40 tertiary/post-secondary centres for the 2022/2023 academic year.

“These students benefit from continued educational opportunities under Pathways one through three,” she noted.

Additionally, all students have the opportunity to pursue Mathematics and English in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) or City & Guilds exams if they were not initially successful at grade 11.

Also, each student enrolled in the SFPP is further provided with the opportunity to complete training and certification in customer service.

Meanwhile, as at September 2023, high-school cadets, upon reaching grade 12, will have access to the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) Cadetting (Infantry) Level 3 course.

After being piloted in 2019, the Sixth-Form Pathways or the seven-year high-school programme was launched in September 2020, to allow students to graduate from secondary school with one or more of the following – an occupational associate degree, certificate or a diploma (within an occupational discipline), or an accredited Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) or University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) Associate Degree.

Students can also graduate with Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects (diploma or certificate) or a CAPE Associate Degree, National Vocational Qualification – Jamaica (NVQJ) and/or Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) at levels two or three.