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Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, said that an additional $1billion has been added to the upcoming budget for special and early childhood education. “We are adding it so that our little children can get the best…we wish we could do more,” the Minister stated. He was speaking at the official opening of the Accompong Basic School in...

Education Minster, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, says everything is in place for the start of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) on Thursday, March 21. He said schools are already receiving their supplies to facilitate the two-day sitting of the examination, and the delivery process should be completed by the end of Tuesday. “I am encouraging any school that...

Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, is encouraging Jamaicans to save more as this is important to the country’s economic growth. “We need to improve savings at all levels in Jamaican society. We need to stop depending on other people’s savings as much as we have chronically done and have now placed us in the impasse of our...

The Government is moving to expand the National School Garden Programme, with plans to establish a garden in every public school over the next five years. Currently, 352 schools in Jamaica have gardens under the programme. The announcement was made by Director of Field Services and Economic Development of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Ron Blake, as he addressed the St....

The training capacity at two Corporate Area institutions has been boosted by the provision of an equipped computer room and learning software valued at approximately C$47,000, by the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica. The Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually Impaired on Mannings Hill Road, and Faith United Basic School in Washington Gardens, are the beneficiaries of the...

Education Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites says the educational achievement of students is being severely compromised by poor values and attitudes, where focus is being placed on material possessions and popular culture rather than learning. “We idolise bling, extreme fashions, whatever the current notion of popularity is,” he said, noting that many parents and grandparents, by their own conduct,...

Students of the José Martí Technical High School have been urged to exploit the opportunities which schools present, to become all they want to be in life. “The sky is not even the limit,” said Principal Financial Officer at the Ministry of Health, Michael Maragh, who was keynote speaker at the opening of the school’s Career Expo, held on the...

Communities in the West are set to become more integrated into the life of the University of the West Indies, through its Western Jamaica Ambassadorial Corps, comprising a group of leaders in the private and public sectors. “Through the advocacy and involvement of our Ambassadors, we at Western Jamaica Campus will benefit from their advice, their partnership and their assistance...

Approximately 95 children in the Waterhouse community are benefiting from a new school building, which was handed over to the Maranatha Christian Church by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), on March 15. The Maranatha Ministries Basic School was constructed at a cost of $44.5 million, with financial support from the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), a project of the...

Some 3,287 students at 26 all-age and primary schools islandwide are now enjoying improved sanitary conveniences, following upgrading work by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), at a cost of $177.6 million. Improvement works carried out under phase one of JSIF’s Sanitation for Schools project, entailed construction of new sanitation blocks, equipped with septic tanks; toilets; urinals; and ramp ways...

Holy Trinity High School is on the way to improved academic results, with the assistance of technology, and teachers being able to “walk” with laptop computers for use in classes. Some 300 seventh graders will also benefit from 20 new Internet-enabled desktop computers, which have been installed in the school’s reading room. A total of 45 computers were formally handed...

The Ministry of Education is seeking to cultivate a culture of safety and security at all educational institutions across the island. Deputy Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Sharon Neil, said minimum standards and guidelines for safety have been established. Through these standards, she said, “we hope to stimulate a culture of safety in all our institutions where...