Education, Youth and Information Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, is calling for the collective efforts of education stakeholders to navigate the challenges facing the sector. Speaking at the virtual opening of the fourth International Conference on Educational Leadership and Management, today (March 18), the Minister said the COVID-19 pandemic demands new and changing expectations of what the education system is expected...

Jamaica’s public debt has remained flat over the past year despite the major fall in Government revenue and increase in expenditure as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19). This was disclosed by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, while making his contribution to the 2021/22 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday (March 18). He said that...

The Government, through the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), is in discussion with operator of the Lionel Densham Aerodrome in St. Elizabeth to enter into an agreement to improve the facility. In an interview with JIS News, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AAJ, Audley Deidrick, explained that the intention is to upgrade the aerodrome through a “reverse...

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the food industry are among stakeholders to benefit from capacity-building interventions, including improved market access, under the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ) Food Safety Management System Expansion Project. Funded by the European Union (EU), the initiative, which was officially launched during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday (March 17), seeks to improve...

NEW CASES 24 HRS OVERALL Confirmed Cases 638 33,366 SEX CLASSIFICATION     Females 357   18,728   Males 281 14,635 Under Investigation 0 3 AGE RANGE 6 months  to 96 years 1 day to 104 years         PARISH CLASSIFICATION OF NEW CASES     Clarendon 17 1,862 Hanover 6 952 Kingston & St. Andrew 246 9,495...

Executive Director of the Citizen Security Secretariat (CSS), Dianne McIntosh, says the Citizen Security Plan (CSP) will be supported by robust data collection. “Data collection is very important. What we’ve had over the years is a silo approach to data collection. A more collaborative, standardised data-collection system will enable various ministries to pull information on specific communities,” she said in...

Countries, including Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) member states, should start receiving doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccine under the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, by July. PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne, said that COVAX has secured more than 100 million doses of the vaccine for 2021 and up to 500 million through 2022. She was speaking...