Jamaica’s climate and disaster resilience capacities have been strengthened with the development of a Bush Fire Warning Index and Management System. The digital platform, initiated by the Meteorological Service Division (Met Service) in tandem with the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), is expected to improve stakeholder capability to monitor developments relating to bush fires. It will utilise rainfall, temperature, soil type...

Assistant Chief Education Officer in the Curriculum Unit, Ministry of Education and Youth, Dr. Clover Hamilton-Flowers, is encouraging creative use of the National Standards Curriculum (NSC) to cater to the needs of individual learners. The call is in keeping with the recommendations of the Professor Orlando Patterson-chaired Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC) report, which indicates that tailoring the application of...

The establishment of a National Human Rights Institute in Jamaica is under review. Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, made the disclosure at the Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) policy summit on the state of justice, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on March 30. The focus of the Institute is to complement the...

The Ministry of Education and Youth is implementing several initiatives at various levels of the sector to increase science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) learning. This was stated by Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, during the national STEAM career forum at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, on April 1. She said the Ministry has introduced the...

The Government is providing more than $8 million to assist small business operators in Port Maria and its environs who suffered losses due to severe flooding in the coastal town earlier this year. An initial 35 flood relief cheques were handed over on Wednesday (March 30) at the St. Mary’s Anglican Church Hall. The cheques are disbursed in values of...

Persons in the Greenwich Town community of St. Andrew who are benefiting from entrepreneurial ventures funded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) at a cost of $13 million are giving back to schools in the area. The agency has funded more than 50 small business enterprises with grants, and the beneficiaries, in turn, are giving back to 11 basic...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn, says Jamaica’s accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) will lead to significant progress in strengthening the country’s innovation ecosystem and gross domestic product (GDP). “Ultimately, the PCT brings Jamaican creators within the world’s reach. They may seek protection in countries where they intend...