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Minister of Education, Youth and Information (left), Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left); Japan’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Masanori Nakano (second left); Principal, Epworth Primary School, Kirk Spencer; and student, Epworth Primary School, Samuel Henry, display a symbolic cheque during a signing ceremony at the Ambassador’s Paddington Terrace residence in St. Andrew on March 30. The $10 million (US$82,715) to the institution will be used to construct two additional classrooms. The money has been provided under the Japanese Government’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects and initiated through a partnership forged between the National Education Trust (NET) and the Japanese Embassy in Jamaica.

Schools to be Expanded

The Government of Japan has provided grants totalling approximately $20 million (US$165,497) to fund expansion of the Epworth Primary School in St. Ann and Zion Hill Primary School in Manchester. The provision of $10 million (US$82,715) to Epworth Primary School...

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid. (FILE)

Seaga Praised for Creating Heart Trust/NTA

Prime Minister Andrew Holness (Centre) receives the CARICOM Review Commission Report from former Prime Minister Hon Bruce Golding (Right). Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith witnessed the hand-over.

PM Holness Receives Final Report from CARICOM Review Commission

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, speaks in the House of Representatives on March 28.

Defence Act to be Amended

Operations Manager at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre, Hillary Clarke (centre), fields questions during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank held at the agency’s Montego Bay Regional Office on Union Street on March 27. She is flanked by Senior Curator National Museum, David Stimpson (left); and Senior Curator, National Gallery Jamaica, O’Neil Lawrence.

Visitors Flock to Montego Bay Cultural Centre

Director of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Portia Magnus. (FILE)

9 years ago Social Security

Domestic Workers Entitled to Eight Weeks’ Maternity Leave

Domestic workers can claim for maternity leave allowance for a maximum period of eight weeks. Director of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Portia Magnus, told JIS News in a recent interview that the provision, under the National Insurance Act of 1979, aims to ensure that these workers’ rights are protected. “This benefit is for persons employed as domestic workers, as...

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator, the Hon. Ruel Reid. (FILE)

9 years ago Education

Rural PATH Students to Benefit from School Transportation

Students on the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) in rural parishes are to benefit from a school transportation programme starting in September. It will begin as a pilot project to be rolled out in St. Elizabeth, St. Thomas, St. Mary, Hanover and St. James. This was announced by Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon....

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw (at the podium), addresses the launch of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and introduces the National Financial Inclusion Council at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, yesterday (March 29). At right is Governor, Bank of Jamaica, Brian Wynter

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Government Puts Forward National Financial Inclusion Strategy

The Government has crafted a National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), which aims to improve the country’s financial system by 2020. The goal of the NFIS is to create the conditions in which Jamaicans, particularly those who were previously underserved by the domestic financial system, are able to save safely and build up resilience against financial shocks, and firms are able...

Acting Commissioner of Police, Novelette Grant (4th left, front row), shares a photo opportunity with young participants in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) IPAD Youth Empowerment and Mentorship Camp programme, and prospective sponsors and other stakeholders. Occasion was a breakfast meeting at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St. Andrew on March 29 to engage corporate society to support the initiative aimed at providing social intervention for youth.

9 years ago National Security and PeaceYouth

Public and Private Sector Entities Pledge Support to JCF Youth Camp

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has received pledges of support from several public- and private-sector entities to expand the reach of its IPAD Youth Empowerment and Mentorship Camp, aimed at providing social intervention for young people. Among them are Jamaica Public Service (JPS), Carib Cement, Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Digicel Jamaica and Jamaica Information Service (JIS). IPAD, which is...

Reading teacher and Vice Principal, at the Mocho Primary and Infant School, Curdell Bryan-Thomas (centre), demonstrates to Peer Counsellor, Jerome Greyson (right), and Chairman of the school Board, Ainsworth Kelly (left), an area of the school which promotes the institution’s strong literacy programme.

9 years ago Education

Mocho Primary Students Benefit from Literacy Programme

The Mocho Primary and Infant School in Clarendon has initiated a robust literacy programme that is geared at encouraging reading among students as well as ensuring that the institution remains a leader in the field. Among the measures implemented are the Journalism Club; Pen Pal club; and the Read Aloud system, where teachers source books and loan to students on...

The 123-year-old St. Joseph’s Infant School, located in downtown Kingston.

9 years ago Education

St. Joseph’s Infant Seeks Support to Meet ECC’s Operating Standards

Principal of the 123-year-old St. Joseph’s Infant School, located in downtown Kingston, Rosemarie Clarke, is seeking support to enable the institution to attain the Early Childhood Commission’s (ECC) 12 operating standards. It has, so far, attained 77 per cent of the requirements for certification, but now needs help to meet the other 23 per cent, which covers building renovation, hiring...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, makes his contribution to the debate on the Pensions (Public Service) Act 2016 in the House of Representatives on March 28.

9 years ago Prime MinisterSocial Security

Gov’t to Introduce Voluntary Retirement Programme

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says a new programme will be introduced in the 2017/18 financial year for persons opting for early retirement. “I think I should stress that this is a voluntary programme. We’re going to encourage persons to take it. It is not a compulsory programme,” he said, noting that the move represents an overall strategy...