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Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, has called on primary school principals to desist from administering tests to grade one students as a criterion for entering their institutions, and rejecting those who fail. “We are receiving reports of many principals…giving tests to students, who apply to grade one and in some cases they are rejecting them even if they...

Students and teachers of the Freeman’s Hall Primary and Infant School in Trelawny are now enjoying more comfortable surroundings, following extensive upgrading of the institution by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) at a cost of over $31 million. The scope of work, which was undertaken through contribution from the community, included construction and partition of classrooms, installation of new...

Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, has urged school administrators to use the reports from the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) as a guide to improving their institutions. “We have a tool in the education system now which we are not using adequately. In the transformation process, the National Education Inspectorate has been providing inspection reports on a majority...

Thousands of students from 40 primary schools in western Jamaica are to benefit from the I-PLEDGE Programme, launched by GraceKennedy (Western Union), on April 10, at the John Rollins Success Primary School, in St. James. Under the I-PLEDGE Programme (I Promise to Lend Encouragement to Develop Growth in Education), the schools will be provided with special reading materials, and will...

The Sawyers Primary School in Trelawny has been upgraded at a cost $21 million by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), with inputs from the community. Work done at the institution included construction of a new sanitation block to house four units for girls, and three for boys; renovation of the existing school building; changing of the roof; and installation...

Students who took part in the John Rollins Success Primary School Reading Marathon 2013, on April 10, were commended for their performances by wife of the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Most Hon. Lady Allen. She said they have given her hope that Jamaica “is going to be the place to live, work, raise our families and do business.” Lady Allen...

The activities of the Education Sector Reform project have been bolstered with an allotment of $81.4 million in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project aims to support the implementation of the Education System Transformation Programme (ESTP) by operationalising the new agencies that are key to improving the capacity to deliver high quality education;...

A total of $516.53 million has been allocated to the education sector to facilitate the upgrading and general improvement of the physical infrastructure of schools this fiscal year. The money is being provided by the Government in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. Of the amount allocated, $315 million will be used to undertake various...

A sum of $92.4 million has been set aside for the Primary Education Support Project, to carry out its activities for this fiscal year. This is contained in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project aims to contribute to the improved performance, efficiency and equity of the Primary Education system, through theeffective implementation of...

The activities of the Early Childhood Development Project have been strengthened with an allocation of $32 million in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project has the objective to improve the monitoring of children’s development, the screening of household-level risks affecting development and early intervention systems, in order to promote development. It also seeks...

The Parent-School Partnerships for Improved Literacy Outcomes Project has received an allocation of $21.37 million in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project, being implemented by the Ministry of Education through funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), seeks to increase parental involvement in improving reading skills among Grade 1 students...

Implementation of the Education System Transformation Programme (ESTP) will continue this fiscal year, with an $881.21 million boost. The money has been set aside in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The programme seeks to provide support to the Ministry of Education’s policy to expand compulsory education from age 16 to 18 by providing approximately...