52 High Schools Participating In Twinning Programme

Some 52 high schools are now participating in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s Twinning of Schools initiative.

The programme aims to expose students to academic and extracurricular programmes that are not currently available at their own schools.

It will also give teachers and student leaders an opportunity to share ideas and best practices with their colleagues in other institutions.

Among the participating schools are Ardenne High, Pembroke Hall High, Haile Selassie High, Campion College and Holy Trinity High in Kingston and St. Andrew.

Minister with responsibility for Education, Hon. Karl Samuda, in his remarks at the official launch of the 2019/20 school year at the Ardenne High School on Thursday (September 12), said the initiative will positively change the perceptions held about some schools.

“The fear that a lot of people might have, privately, that it’s a cultural crossover, it isn’t. There are many students at this institution (Ardenne High), considered an Ivy League institution, that are from the same communities as students from Kingston High and Haile Selassie,” he pointed out.

“Our mission is to make sure that those schools are improved to a level where, when a student or a parent sees that their child has been assigned to that school, there is no apprehension,” he added.

Mr. Samuda noted that the teaching body in Jamaica is “very competent and committed” and “it is just a question of the support that they will get from the private sector, the churches and from other organisations that are willing to support our school and our educational system”.