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KINGSTON — Cabinet has approved two contracts valued at almost $299 million for the procurement and distribution of textbooks for the 2011/12 academic year under the National Textbook Rental Scheme. This was announced on August 10 by Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects, Hon. Daryl Vaz at the weekly post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House. Companies...

MONTEGO BAY — Education Minister, Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Ministry is moving to address the problem of failing schools, noting that such institutions should not exist. Mr. Holness, who was addressing the Ministry's Region Six Back-to-School Conference in St. Ann on Tuesday August 9, said that for far too long, generations of students have been allowed to pass through...

KINGSTON — The School Feeding Programme will be further enhanced with Cabinet’s approval of two contracts for the supply of commodities for the upcoming school term. One contract valued at $97.08 million has been awarded to Palm Rose Commodity Limited, for the supply of 30,000 bags long grain rice, while the other worth $30.45 million has been awarded to Industrial...

MONTEGO BAY — Sixty one students from schools in St. Ann were recently awarded for their outstanding performance in the 2011 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). The awards ceremony, hosted by Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners, was held on August 9 at the Runaway Bay Heart Hotel, where the awardees were presented with certificates and scholarship grants of $25,000 each, to...

KINGSTON — Director General of the Jamaica Library Service (JLS), Patricia Roberts, says the organisation is working to improve the school library system, including addressing those institutions that have non-functional facilities. She was speaking on August 8 opening ceremony of the 40th Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) on the Mona campus of the University of...

KINGSTON — In the prevailing climate of budgetary constraints, the Ministry of Education is giving priority to those schools that are in urgent need of repairs, according to Director of Technical Services in the Ministry, Errol Golding. “We have identified schools that are in need of critical repairs in specific areas, including sanitation, water supply, electrical and roofing. The Ministry...

KINGSTON — Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Grace McLean, is urging young people to take risks in their search for educational opportunities and career paths. “Your whole life is before you, and you can be anything that you want to be. You must prepare to take risks, you must be bold,” she said. Mrs. McLean, who was...

KINGSTON — Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Grace McLean, is urging young people to take risks in their search for educational opportunities and career paths. "Your whole life is before you, and you can be anything that you want to be. You must prepare to take risks, you must be bold," she said. Ms. McLean, who was...

KINGSTON — Participants who attended a pre-conference satellite meeting for the 40th annual conference of the International Association of School Librarianship were on August 5, sensitised about e-learning practices in Jamaica. The meeting, which was held at the Mona Visitors' Lodge, University of the West Indies (UWI), had as its theme: 'School Libraries: Best Practices for e-learning'. Lecturer, Department of...

KINGSTON — The Ministry of Education has partnered with Research In Motion (RIM), the technology company behind the Blackberry product line, to provide some 20,000 teachers throughout the island's school system with Blackberry Smartphones. The initiative is aimed at improving communication and increasing technology awareness and availability among educators. The Canadian High Commission is providing support in the undertaking, which...

KINGSTON — Ministry of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, says that plans are in place for the development of a family literacy programme, which will address illiteracy at the home and community levels. He said that the programme will utilise students, who have been trained through the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) and the National Youth Service (NYS), who will serve as...

MONTEGO BAY — Children of staff of the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay have received educational grants to assist with their secondary school expenses. The grants, which total $80,000, were handed over by members of the Women’s Committee of the National Workers Union (NWU), which represents the employees at the hospital, during a brief ceremony at the facility on...