The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) is well underway with work to certify 300 additional basic schools meeting its 12 qualifying Standards, over the Board’s three-year tenure. This exercise, when completed in 2019, will bring the number to 317, following last year’s certification of the first 17 of the approximately 2,700 early childhood institutions in operation. The ECC’s Acting Executive Director,...

A vegetable garden has been established at Independence City Primary School in Portmore, St. Catherine, which will support the feeding programme at the institution, while helping the students gain an appreciation for the environment. Among the crops in the gardens are sweet pepper, hot pepper, onion, pumpkin, banana, corn, beetroot and carrot. The project falls under a biodiversity awareness programme...

It is a well-known fact that proper hygiene is necessary for good health and this is especially true for children who are more susceptible to germs and bacteria. It is also true that proper bathroom facilities are needed for this to happen, so imagine then your child not benefitting from such conveniences at their school. This was the case for...

The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) is a step closer to gaining university status, with the passage of legislation to effect this. The House of Representatives on Tuesday (January 24) approved the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) Bill 2016, with four amendments. It will repeal the Caribbean Maritime Institute Act, under which the institution operates. Piloting the Bill on January 10, Minister...

State Minister in the Education, Youth and Information Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green, says the standards set by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) for the sector have to be very high. “We are dealing with the most vulnerable of our society, children who need care and protection, so we have to set the standards high. Countries come to Jamaica to model...

The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) will be heightening its efforts to rationalise basic schools this year, even as it seeks to certify more institutions. The rationalisation process involves merging clusters of basic schools, as well as subsuming some into infant departments of primary schools. Acting Executive Director at the ECC, Karlene DeGrasse-Deslandes, said “the rationalisation process is essential if we...

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, joined hands with staff and students at the Mona High School yesterday (January 26) in mourning the loss of second form student, Darnell Foster. Addressing a special devotion in memory of the youngster, who died after collapsing in Half-Way Tree on Monday, January 23, Senator Reid urged students to...