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Twenty-two students, who sat the 2012 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), were honoured by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) on August 8, for their outstanding performance. The students, whose parents are employed to the UDC, were presented with gift vouchers of $10,000 each during the award function held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston. The awardees are: Dannasha Dixon;...

Education Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, said the re-introduction of civics in schools will give students a "new sense of responsibility and understanding of what it means to be a Jamaican." He was speaking on August 8, at the Urban Development Corporation's (UDC) Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) awards luncheon held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston. The...

Mayor of Kingston, Senator Angella Brown-Burke, has challenged educators to be mindful of the social goals of education, noting that it provides the opportunity to instill values and teach critical life lessons. "Often, when we are in the classroom or talking about education, we forget that education has a social goal,” the Mayor said at a back-to-school conference held on...

Help is on the way for the Mount Rosser Primary School in St. Catherine. Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, said the Ministry will assist the school’s efforts to built modern sanitary facilities in time for the start of the new academic year in September.  Mount Rosser Primary is one of 200 schools island-wide that still use pit latrines...

Gabrielle Brown and Kevon Findley are this year’s recipients of Guardian Life Limited’s Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) scholarships. Both students, who will be attending Campion College in September, have received a five-year scholarship valued at $50,000 per annum. The tenure of the scholarship is subject to the awardees maintaining at least a ‘B’ average each year. The students were...

Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, has informed that there will be changes to the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) come next year. "Beginning next year, there will be changes in the examination - gradual at first, but hopefully moving in the direction of what the educationalists call higher order intellectual skills," he said, while addressing the Guardian...

More than 1,000 teachers from across the island are being trained in a special summer programme in the area of numeracy, in an effort to improve students' performance in mathematics. Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, who made the disclosure on July 23, during a press briefing at Jamaica House, said an additional 50 numeracy specialists will be employed by...

The teachings of Garveyism and the subject of Civics will be officially introduced to the school curriculum during the 2012/13 academic year, Education Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, has informed. He explained that the Garveyism programme will be officially launched on August 17 at the Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St. Ann. "We will launch the material which...

Some $182 million has been allocated for the construction of water bound sanitary facilities in some 26 schools across the island. The funds have been set aside under Phase I of the Replacement of Pit Latrines in Schools Programme, which is being supported by the government, in partnership with the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund, the Jamaica...

Education Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, says the Ministry is currently conducting a review of the national school feeding programme, in an effort to improve the nutrition of students, particularly those at the early childhood level. Rev. Thwaites said the review of the programme will be a gradual process, adding that the results will be announced later during the...

The Ministry of Education will employ 300 newly trained teachers as interns in special areas of need throughout the education system, during the upcoming 2012/13 academic year. Portfolio Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, said the move is to reduce the large numbers of unemployed teachers in Jamaica. "We have some 2,000 teachers who are fully trained, who we can’t...

More than 100 schools have so far confirmed their participation in the country's golden Jubilee Celebrations on August 6, Education Minister, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, has informed. "We have had good responses to the request to have school children gather with their teachers at their schools on Independence Day," he noted. The Minister was addressing journalists on July 23,...