Teachers Recognised in South West St. Elizabeth

Scores of teachers and principals in South West St. Elizabeth were presented with tokens of appreciation on Teachers’ Day (May 10), by State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green.

Key rings and greeting cards were given to the recipients, while Councillors of the area presented each school with a cake.

There are 17 primary, two high and 43 basic schools in the constituency, with some 530 teachers for the students.

The State Minister told JIS News that the day was set aside for the Ministry of Education and Jamaica to thank the teachers, and he thought it was very important to visit some of the schools in his constituency to express gratitude for their work.

“Teachers give so much and work so hard, but oftentimes no one takes the time to show them how much they are appreciated. That is what I wanted to do today. This is just a message to say that you are important to us and we value what you do and we want to say thank you,” Mr. Green said, after his final stop at Middle Quarters Primary School.

The State Minister visited five of the schools in the area, including Black River High and Barbary Hall Basic.

In response to questions from journalists following the tour, Mr. Green said he took note of some of the areas where work needs to be done.

“Some of them have already been programmed for work, and we want to accelerate the pace so that the teachers can have a more comfortable environment and students can do well,” he said.

With renewed emphasis being placed on the island’s basic schools, Mr. Green stressed the importance of basic-school teachers to the education system.

He said it was for that reason he included Barbary Hall Basic School in his itinerary, to let the teachers know how important they are to the system.

“If we get it right from the start, we will spend much less money on remedial work, and through the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), we are working hard to bring schools up to certification levels. When you send your child to a basic school, we will be assured of the quality and you will be assured of the output,” the State Minister said.