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Education Minister, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, says increased focus will be given to early childhood education as the government looks to enhance outcomes at all levels of the system. In an interview with JIS News, the Minister  said emphasis will be placed on the training of early childhood educators starting this summer, and more qualified teachers will be placed in...

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, has said more space must be created within the school system for the employment of graduates of teachers’ colleges. The move, he said, would address the high student: teacher ratio in some schools. “The student teacher ratios in many schools are inadequate. There are too many students in each class,” Rev. Thwaites said...

Construction of more than 50 new infant schools is to begin next month, as the Government looks to improve offerings at the early childhood level. The announcement was made by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, as he delivered the Throne Speech in Gordon House on Thursday May 10th to mark the opening of the new Parliamentary...

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, says educators must continue to play an integral role in transforming and advancing education to ensure that the next generation is adequately equipped to engage in national development. “We call upon our teachers ...to help us toward the higher standards of transforming education so that the outcomes for our children, for our nation,...

Fifty schools across the island received computers, on May 8, courtesy of the Bank of Nova Scotia’s charitable arm, Scotia Foundation. The institutions comprised a mix of basic, primary and all age and Junior high schools. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the donation, held at the Scotia Centre in downtown Kingston, Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites,...

As we observe Teachers’ Day, we are presented with the ideal opportunity to give due recognition to members of this noble profession, whose outstanding contribution to nation building is worthy of high praises. It is also an opportunity for many of us to reflect on our own lives and how much our past teachers have aided our journey to the...

It was a day of celebration, history and cultural extravagance at the Clan Carthy Primary School in Kingston, on Tuesday (May 8), as the institution hosted its Caribbean Cultural Exposition, aptly dubbed ‘Caribbean Explosion’. The Deanery Road School was alive with excitement and energy, as the students and teachers showcased aspects of the Caribbean’s cultural legacy through dance, music and...

I use this medium to laud all the stake holders of the education system, as we commemorate 2012. This year’s commemoration is of particular significance, as we celebrate the 50th year of our country’s independence. As we celebrate this milestone of our political independence, we are cognisant of the strides we have made in the education sector.  We are indebted...

In 1880, a young Roman Catholic woman, Jessie Ripoll, bought a 43-acre property, and transformed it into the Alpha Cottage, where she admitted a single orphan girl. Over the years, as the institution’s population grew, so too did its purpose and importance to the Kingston community, and in 1892, it was transformed into an elementary school with the assistance of...

Minster of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites is encouraging stakeholders within the education system not to fear the proposed legislation governing the establishment of the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC). He said that the move to put the Council in place is not an attempt to cramp teachers’ rights, but rather “it is an important aspect to lift the lustre of...

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, has invited the Independent Schools' Association (JISA) to have discussions towards devising “a saving mechanism” for privately-operated institutions that are on the verge of closing. “Jamaica can’t afford to lose one school place; we need more, not less, and if a private institution closes all that does is to put a further pressure...

The Ministry of Education has signed a $660 million contract with HDB Construction for the building of the Cedar Grove High School at Gregory Park, in Portmore, St. Catherine. The institution is the first to be built under the National Education Trust (NET) on behalf of the Ministry, and the Education System Transformation Programme (ESTP), and is a joint initiative...