More than 100 students in St. Catherine and Portland have received educational supplies, including laptops, from the philanthropic group Pollyanna Project, at a cost of $15 million. In Old Harbour, St. Catherine, 43 students have received school bags and key educational items and 10 of them got laptops, sponsored by the United States (US)-based Brooklyn Nets. In Portland, 60 students...

The Ministry of Education and Youth has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the performance of students in Mathematics at the secondary level. Only 39 per cent of Jamaican students in public schools received a passing grade in the May/June 2024 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics examination. Acting Chief Education Officer, Terry-Ann Thomas Gayle, said the Ministry...

Jamaican students performed marginally higher in the May/June 2024 sitting of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics, compared to the rest of the region. “Jamaica’s maths pass rate for public schools was 39 per cent, and for all [of] Jamaica, meaning public, private and others, that figure was 33.4 per cent. When compared to the regional pass rate of 36...

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) is encouraging persons to use its price enquiry tool as a resource to obtain valuable information to assist in textbook purchases, in their back-to-school preparation. Persons can access the price enquiry tool on the Commission’s website, cac.gov.jm. Between July 29 and August 2024, the Commission visited 64 bookstores across the island and received results from...

The Ministry of Education and Youth will be redoubling its efforts to curb violence in schools, using a multiplicity of strategies. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said these interventions will be guided by the Safety and Security Policy. “The Safety and Security Policy that is designed to prevent violence in schools spells out how to implement physical security measures, such...

The Ministry of Education and Youth is reporting that 902 of the island’s 1,009 schools will be ready for the start of the 2024/25 academic year on September 2, in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the disclosure during a press briefing at the Ministry’s National Heroes Circle offices in Kingston on Monday (August 26)....

Village Primary and Infant School in Faiths Pen, St. Ann, has emerged victorious in the inaugural 'Risk It for the Biscuit' competition, securing a $300,000 prize to build a school tuck shop. The competition, organised by Seprod, challenged primary schools across Jamaica to collect the most Butterkist biscuit wrappers in exchange for points. Minister of State in the Ministry of...

The Ministry of Education and Youth is reporting that students across Jamaica maintained a high level of performance in the May/June 2024 sitting of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said Unit 1 had 31,783 subject entries of which 30,136 were sat, with a pass rate of 90 per cent. For Unit 2, of those...

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, says repairs are ongoing at the 300-plus schools damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl, to ensure their readiness for the start of the 2024/25 academic year on September 2. “We have been meeting with our Regional Directors, with all our building officers, and if there’s a situation that they believe may...