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KINGSTON — Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, has said that the Government will be introducing a performance-based national school leaving certificate for high school leavers. The Minister, who was addressing a graduation ceremony yesterday June 26 at the Convent of Mercy (Alpha) Academy, said that the initiative, which will be fully implemented in all secondary schools within the next...

MONTEGO BAY — Ground was broken on Thursday (June 23) for the construction of a Matron’s Quarters at the St. Elizabeth Infirmary in Santa Cruz, at a cost of $7 .5 million. The facility will cover an area of 920 square feet. It will comprise three bedrooms and feature concrete foundations, reinforced block walls, slab roofing, ceramic tiles and louvre...

KINGSTON — The Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) adult education centre in Kingston, has been provided with additional classrooms to assist with delivering its mandate of helping to improve adult literacy and numeracy skills. The six new classrooms can accommodate 25 persons each, increasing enrollment from 175 to 280 students per shift.  Addressing the official handing over ceremony at...

KINGSTON — The National Land Agency (NLA) on June 24 donated 150 books to the Clan Carthy Primary School’s library as part of its drive to improve the literacy skills of the nation’s children. Public Relations Officer at the NLA, Adrienne Mullings, said the agency amassed more than over 300 books for donation to the Kingston-based institution and the Redwood...

KINGSTON — Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, is urging Jamaicans to get tested for HIV, even as the country continues to make significant strides towards better treatment and care for those infected with the disease. The Minister made the call in a statement read by Vice Chairman, National AIDS Committee (NAC) and Acting Director, Health Promotion and Protection Division,...

MONTEGO BAY — Farmers across  the country have been encouraged to mulch their fields  and  to  give free days  on each other’s farms, in order to cut costs and become more competitive. Support Service Manager at the Grand Palladium Hotel in Montego Bay, Leroy Peart,  told farmers at the recent St. James Association of Branch Societies annual general meeting  in...

KINGSTON — State Minister for Mining and Energy, Hon. Laurence Broderick, is urging students to help promote and support Government’s conservation thrust, by carrying out energy saving activities at home, particularly during the summer holidays. He was speaking at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica’s (PCJ) Energy Conservation Incentive Programme for Schools 2011 awards ceremony, at the Knutsford Court Hotel, New...

TORONTO — Jamaica's High Commissioner to Canada, Her Excellency Sheila Sealy Monteith, has commended the Jamaican Diaspora in Canada for their contribution to the just concluded Diaspora Convention in Ocho Rios. In a letter sent to the Canadian participants, High Commissioner Sealy Monteith thanked them for their “strong presence, active participation and positive contribution at all levels” at the Convention,...

KINGSTON — Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Senator Warren Newby has called for the renewal of a social contract in Jamaica. “The social contract defines the relationship between individuals and the State, their expectations of the State and the contributions that they are willing to make to foster social cohesion and human advancement,” he said....

WASHINGTON — Jamaica’s Prime Minister, the Hon Bruce Golding, and Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Audrey Marks, have singled out the Washington-based Jamaica Women of Washington (JWoW) for its continued support for health and education in Jamaica. In his message to mark JWoW’s Ninth Annual Tea Off to Good Health and Silent Auction, at the Four Seasons Hotel,...

LONDON — The likely review of the British Government’s Airline Passenger Duty (APD) has been cited as a good example of what can be achieved when the UK Caribbean community in the United Kingdom (UK) works together. Conservative Member of Parliament, Julian Smith told the Caribbean Question Time meeting in London on Tuesday night (June 21), that the lobbying by...

KINGSTON — Consumers now have less to worry about the accuracy of water bills, as the National Water Commission’s (NWC) testing laboratory has been retrofitted and upgraded to ensure greater accuracy of its water meters. The laboratory upgrading and accompanying facilities were made available under the Jamaica Water Supply Improvement project (JWSIP), at a cost of some US$14 million. Minister...