Minister of Education, Hon. Rev, Ronald Thwaites, says his office is open for discussions with the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), to deal with concerns about the proposed changes to the teachers’ leave benefits. “I respect the body that represents the teachers of Jamaica and my door is open (and) obviously, discourse is only helpful if it is civil and respectful,”...

The Ministry of Education is reporting that it is fully prepared for the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Tests scheduled for June 6 and 7. “Materials have been dispatched to all regions for school administrators to pick up, and the presiding examiners and invigilators have been selected and trained and are ready to provide support for the administration of the...

Approximately 20,000 students on the Government’s Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) are to benefit from a transportation allowance when the new school year starts in September. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier, said his Ministry is working with the Ministry of Education to finalise details of the proposed allowance. Mr. Kellier, who was making...

Jamaica is the lead country in a Caribbean-wide project, aimed at developing programmes and strategies to address educational underachievement in boys. The initiative, dubbed ‘Advancing the Education of Boys’, is being undertaken as a pilot in Jamaica and three other Caribbean countries through funding and expertise from the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is expected to last for last three years. It...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller has expressed Jamaica’s commitment to stronger relationships with Tanzania. In bilateral talks with Tanzania’s President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, in Ethiopia recently, Prime Minister Simpson Miller said the commitment was a reflection of the principle of South-South cooperation to which her Administration subscribes. Of particular interest to Tanzania is cooperation in the fields...

Hundreds of boys from more than 30 primary schools in St. James, on Tuesday, May 28, showcased their musical and vocal talents as the Ministry of Education staged the 4th annual Boys’ Choir Festival, at the Bethel Primary and Junior High School in Hopewell, Hanover. The event was held under the theme: ‘Empowering our boys through music’ and comprised solo,...

The Management Institute for National Development (MIND) will on Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6, hosts two leadership workshops at its campus at 235A Old Hope Road, Kingston 6. The June 5 workshop dubbed 'Power and Politics in Public Sector Organizations' is targeted at executives within the public sector, including Chief Executive Officers, Executive Directors, Directors General, and Senior...

Next month’s highly anticipated KingsToon festival will provide the opportunity for local and regional animators to get a foothold in the growing US$222.8 billion global animation industry. The two-day event will be held at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Andrew, from June 20 to 21. Jamaica’s growing crop of local animators will...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, will award the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for service to education to 40 teachers, who have contributed more than 1,500 years of combined service to Jamaica’s development. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 9 at Jamaica House starting at 5:00 p.m. Instituted in 2005, the award is given to...