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PORT ANTONIO — The Retreat Primary and Junior High School, St. Mary, received a major boost with the handing over of a newly constructed five-classroom block by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) on Friday (April 29). The block cost approximately $22 million and was completed in January. Funding was provided by the European Union (EU) Banana Support Programme (BSP),...

KINGSTON — Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, says that the Government intends to spread literacy right across the country “like a vaccine against social ills." He was speaking at a function yesterday at the Allman Town Primary School in Kingston to mark ‘Read Across Jamaica Day’. Mr. Holness noted that “literacy - the ability to read, comprehend, compute and...

MONTEGO BAY — Schools in St. James are to participate in the Parish Council’s first Disaster Preparedness Performing Arts Competition, which will last from May 3 to 12. The competition, which was launched  on May 2  in  the Council’s  chambers in Montego Bay,  is opened to all infant, primary, preparatory and high schools in the parish,  and will be staged...

MANDEVILLE — Mayfield All Age School, in St. Elizabeth, celebrated its first Jamaica Day on April 20, with support from parents and the business community, and a special session by Story Teller, Amina Blackwood-Meeks. The day began with a ceremonial flag-raising ceremony, with the students being given reminders of the symbolic meaning of hoisting the Jamaican flag. This was followed...

MANDEVILLE — Five Jamaican high school students have received scholarships valued at approximately $25 million (US$287,500) from West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco) and its parent company UC RUSAL, to study engineering at the People’s Friendship University in Moscow, Russia. The recipients, who were chosen from Windalco operation communities in the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Ann are: Jodian Campbell,...

KINGSTON — Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, has called on business owners to find ways to retain their middle managers, even in a climate of economic downturn. He noted that effective middle managers are critical to the growth and profitability of any entity, to give it the competitive edge in the market. “Without effective middle managers, businesses cannot grow...

KINGSTON — Education Minister, Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Ministry is developing a national strategy to address the challenges associated with the building of schools in communities. The move comes against the background of residents’ objecting to the construction of schools in their area under the Primary Education Support Programme (PESP), out of concern that, inter alia, they will devalue...

KINGSTON — Cabinet has approved a contract valued at $45.4 million for the upgrading of general facilities and the construction of a boundary wall at the Tivoli Gardens High School in Kingston. Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects, Hon. Daryl Vaz, made the disclosure at April 20 post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House. He said that the...

KINGSTON — The Jamaica Basic Education Project, which seeks to increase literacy fluency and foundation mathematics skills among grades one to three students, has received a boost of $173.71 million in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. The allocation will go towards initiatives aimed at achieving a 90 per cent early grade reading fluency in...

KINGSTON — A sum of $46.85 million has been allocated in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, to improve the operations of the School Feeding Programme. The programme, which started in July 2010 through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Jamaica, is a...

MANDEVILLE — Some 125 parents and adolescents from the Cross Keys community in Manchester, recently benefitted from an empowerment training programme, carried out by the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) through its Community and Restorative Justice Centre (CRJC). Speaking at the graduation ceremony held at the Cross Keys High School, Director of CRJC, Merylyn Campbell-Flinch, explained that the objectives of the...

KINGSTON — Morant Bay High School, St. Thomas, recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary with an Open Day and Career Day Expo under the theme "Showcasing Our Talent, Preparing for the Future." Organised by the Guidance Counselling Department and Teacher/Librarian, Alicia King, the day allowed students to learn about various careers, and showcase their talent at a concert which followed. “Because...