Former Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Grace McLean, is assuring the public that adequate post-assessment procedures are in place for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP). “We are now in examination mode, so we will activate our hotlines across the island,” she said while addressing a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank at the...

The Government has allocated some $28 million in the 2019/20 fiscal year to complete construction of two drop-in centres for homeless persons in the parishes of St. Thomas and Trelawny. The money has been set aside in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. Under the Assistance to Homeless (Street Project), which is being implemented by...

The Forestry Department of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation is spearheading the Government’s national programme to become REDD+ ready. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) in developing countries was created by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is a climate change mitigation programme that incentivises developing countries to reduce...

Parents are being encouraged to give their children moral support during the sitting of the new Primary Exit Profile (PEP), beginning on February 26. The students will be among the first cohort at the grade-six level who will be sitting the Ability Test component at 1,104 centres across the island. Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank on...

The Westmoreland Health Department has stepped up its thrust to educate citizens in the parish about dengue fever. “We have been carrying out dengue sensitisation in several communities as well as partnering with schools,” Health Promotions and Education Officer, Gerald Miller, told JIS News. “We engage the teachers by asking them to pass on information in their lessons. They (teachers)...

Newly appointed Minister to the Science, Energy and Technology portfolio, Hon. Fayval Williams, says the first order of business will be promoting good governance across the Ministry. Mrs. Williams said she will be guided in this regard by the new procedures approved by Cabinet in the selection of Boards and in the procurement process. The guidelines are in keeping with...

The 2019/20 session of Parliament got under way yesterday (February 14), with the traditional pomp and pageantry. It was highlighted by the delivery of the Throne Speech by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen. His address outlined the priority programmes and policies to be pursued by the Government in the new fiscal year, which begins on April...