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A loan agreement for US$45 million (J$4 billion) was signed between the Government of Jamaica and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at the bank's headquarters, downtown Washington D.C., on Thursday (February 25). Minister of Finance and Public Service, Hon Audley Shaw, signed on behalf of the Jamaican Government, while IDB president, Luis Alberto Moreno, signed on behalf of the bank....

Some 706 primary and secondary schools across the island will observe Jamaica Day tomorrow (February 26) under the theme: 'Celebrating Jamaica, contributing my personal best'. Theatre Arts Officer in the Ministry of Education, Mr. Marlon Williams, told JIS News that the annual celebration is part of efforts by the Ministry to foster national pride in students. "We know about the...

The Government has been staging public education campaigns to heighten awareness of the dangers of human trafficking, Justice Minister and Attorney General, Senator the Hon. Dorothy Lightbourne Q.C., has disclosed. She was speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop on the theme: "Human Trafficking: A legal, medical/healthcare, economic and social dilemma", hosted by the Ministry of Health at the...

The Ministry of Education is embarking on a national campaign to heighten the awareness and importance of developing students' numeracy skills. As part of this campaign, teachers and parents are being encouraged to play a greater role in developing numeracy habits in their children from an early age. Speaking at the launch of the Butterkist National Primary Schools' Mathematics Competition,...

A total of 48,200 students from 1,004 schools have so far been registered to sit this year's Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) on March 25 and March 26 for placement in high school. Acting Chief Education Officer with responsibility for the Student Assessment Unit in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Sephlin Myers-Thomas, made the disclosure today during an interview with...

The community of Slipe in St. Elizabeth now boasts three modern basic schools, which were built by the Culture, Health, Arts, Science and Education (CHASE) Fund at a cost of $31 million. The institutions, which were officially opened and dedicated on Friday (February 19), are Cataboo and Slipe Basic Schools and the Slipe (SDA) Early Childhood Institution. The new concrete...

Alpha Boys Home, in Kingston, which has produced some of Jamaica's outstanding musicians, will benefit from funds raised at the first staging of the 'I Love Reggae Foundation' musical event, held at Zanzibar on the water front, in Washington, on February 19. Dubbed 'Reggae Jazz on the Waterfront', the event featured the Image Band from Washington, D.C., Saxophonist, Water Tates...

The Seymour Panton Mentorship Centre, located on the grounds of the Rusea's High School in Lucea, Hanover, was officially opened on Saturday (February 20). The centre, a project of the Rusea's Old Students Association (ROSA), was built at a cost of some $4 million, and named in honour of the President of the Court Of Appeal, who is a past...

The team from the Public Sector Transformation Unit (PSTU), mandated to develop a plan for restructuring the public sector, is reporting that it now has a rough first draft of that plan ready for review. The Unit was established in the Office of the Cabinet on November 16, 2009, to drive the transformation of the public sector over an 18-month...

Primary schools across the island are being invited to submit entries for the 18th staging of the Butterkist National Primary Schools Mathematics Competition. The contest, which is geared at promoting excellence in mathematics at the primary level, will be staged on Wednesday, April 28 at centres across the island. It is sponsored by the Seprod Group of Companies. At the...

Schools in Jamalco's mining communities in Manchester and Clarendon are to receive some 30,000 textbooks under the company's annual book distribution programme. The texts, which are to be distributed, were donated by a number of United States publishers and shipped to the island by Alcoa Foundation. At the launch of the 2010 programme held recently at the Halse Hall Great...

A kitchen and dining facility was officially opened today (February 18), at the Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation, Kingston Centre. The structure will also be used as a classroom for the teaching of culinary arts, as well as for the hosting of functions. Most of the funding for the facility was provided by members and supporters of Washington-based organisation -...