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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...

Residents of New Day in St. Elizabeth are being urged to play their part by contributing to the construction of a modern and more spacious basic school to serve the area. The appeal came from Chairman of the institution, Sharon Dasman, at the official contract signing ceremony held recently at the United Pentecostal Church in the community. The school is...

A new early childhood school is to be constructed in New Town, near Black River, in St. Elizabeth, at a cost of $20 million. The contract for the project was signed on March 7 by representatives from New Town and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), at the United Pentecostal Church in the community. Deputy Mayor of Black River, Councillor...

Some 43,384 students are scheduled to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) on Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22, in 1,184 centres across the island. The students will be tested on areas of the primary school curriculum, including mathematics, social studies, language arts, science and communication task. Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Grace McLean, told...

The Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ) took its media literacy programme to western Jamaica on Wednesday, March 6, staging the first in a series of three sensitisation and awareness sessions in the region, at the St. James High School in Montego Bay. Some 300 students benefitted from the session, addressed by Assistant Executive Director of the Commission, Karlene Salmon Johnson,...

Education Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, says he is targeting a 10 per cent improvement in Mathematics passes in the major examinations at the primary and secondary levels. These are the Grade Four Numeracy Test, Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) and the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC). He said that as part of this initiative, the Ministry will be...