The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is encouraging member countries to do everything possible to safely reopen schools for the 2021/22 academic year, against the background of the pervasive coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne, said while there is no “zero-risk” scenario in relation to COVID-19, national and local authorities should decide the appropriate time to open or close...

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams, says that 73,880 children, aged 12 to 18, have been vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) to date. She made the disclosure during a statement to the House of Representatives on September 15. Mrs. Williams continued to urge principals, teachers, students, administrative and ancillary staff, as well as parents, to get vaccinated. ...

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) has donated 60 tablets valued at $1.2 million to two primary schools in St. James and St. Andrew. The institutions are Farm Primary and Infant in Green Pond and Edward Seaga Primary in Denham Town, which were presented with 30 tablets each on September 8 and September 9, respectively. Director of Internal Affairs at the...

The Grateful Hill Primary School in St. Catherine has 40 tablet computers and $200,000 worth of bursaries for needy students, compliments of past student Unique Gray. Gray who is the principal behind Drive Unique, a car-rental entity, said she saw on social media that the school was on a drive to get tablets for students in need and decided to...

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will be continuing its targeted community intervention plan this school year, which is aimed at reaching those students, who are not engaged through any of the remote learning modalities. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams told JIS News that the intervention involves the direct engagement of students in their communities by Ministry personnel. “We...

The Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) is reminding persons that the deadline to apply for the Jump-Start Scholarship is September 30, 2021. The free scholarship provides students with $300,000 to assist with tuition and other school-related expenses.  It is not a student loan and, therefore, does not require repayment. SLB Jump-Start is designed to assist financially challenged students leaving secondary school...

More than 40,000 students have, so far, received their first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. This was disclosed by Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams, who said that the vaccine take-up by students is “going very well”. Speaking with JIS News during a recent interview, Ms. Williams said she is optimistic that “we are going...