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Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, has reiterated the Government's decision, that no child will be allowed to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), without achieving mastery on the Grade Four Literacy Test. Mr. Holness, who outlined the new competence-based transition policy in the House of Representatives on September 15, said that if necessary, children would be allowed to...

Education Minister, Hon. Andrew Holness, says greater emphasis will have to be placed on reading comprehension, citing less than satisfactory results in the 2009 Grade Four Literacy Test. Data from the Ministry show that on the three sub-tests of skills - Word Recognition, Reading Comprehension and Writing - children performed best on word recognition, with some 5,313 of them not...

Chairman of the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughn, has stressed the importance of investing in early childhood development, noting that spending in this area offers the highest rate of return to the society. "Early childhood development is important to Jamaica as it is to any other country, because this is the time that children's brains are developing maximally...

Senior Territorial Education Officer at the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Yvonne McLeod, has said that children learn best when they are interested in a subject, or when they are stimulated to achieve an objective. "Learning does not take place, until it can be demonstrated through application modes. Children learn best when their interest is aroused, or when they are stimulated...

Thirty-six outstanding secondary and tertiary-level students were today (Sept. 13) presented with scholarships, bursaries and book grants by the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS). Of the recipients were 27 secondary school students, comprising employees' children and the country's top performers in the 2009 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). They received five-year scholarships to cover tuition and other expenses. The nine...

Cabinet, on the recommendations of the National Contracts Committee and its Infrastructure Subcommittee, has approved the award of a contract for the renovation and extension of the Nain Basic School and construction of the St. Elizabeth Early Childhood Resource Centre to A1 Construction Company in the sum of $72,596,470. The contract award is subject to the signing of a lease...

An Enrichment Centre was handed over to the Victoria Town Primary School, Manchester, by the Digicel Foundation on Thursday (September 10). Digicel refurbished and equipped the Centre, in partnership with the Education Transformation Team, at a cost of $2 million. It will be used to boost the institution's literacy and numeracy programmes. Speaking at the handing over ceremony at the...

To enhance the quality of service delivery, the Ministry of Education has commenced a customer service training programme for its staff islandwide. The programme, to be undertaken through the Ministry's Professional Development Unit, was launched at the Overseas Examinations Commission, Cross Roads, Kingston, today (Sept. 10). The initiative, which commenced today with a workshop for a number of the stakeholders,...

Cabinet has approved the award of a contract valued at $72.59 million for the renovation of the Nain Basic School and construction of the St. Elizabeth Early Childhood Resource Centre, both in St. Elizabeth. The contract has been awarded to A-One Construction Company. Speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, yesterday (September 9), Minister without Portfolio in the...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding warned last night that his Government wants better results from the $70 billion it is spending on education this financial year. "We spend a lot of money on education, but we do not feel we are getting the value we expect. Everybody is going to have to pull up their socks," the Prime Minister...

As of October, wards at the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre in St. Catherine will have even more prospects for a job and access to higher education beyond the institution's walls. The centre will be boosting its Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) programme, with two critical subjects - Mathematics and English Language added, increasing the programme's offering to five. Currently,...

Refurbishing and upgrading work on the Whyms Road Basic School, St. James, financed by the Kiwanis Club of Providence, Montego Bay, will ensure that the school's 40 students and three teachers face the new school year in a more learner friendly environment. With the refurbishing and upgrading completed, the upgraded institution was officially handed over on Tuesday (September 8). The...