Deputy Chief Education Officer Highlights Importance of SBAs

Students of principles of accounts (POA) and principles of business (POB) are being reminded of the importance of their School Based Assessments (SBAs), by Deputy Chief Education Officer, Lena Buckle Scott.

“It is time now to be polishing up on your SBAs. Without a passing grade in your SBAs, it is impossible to pass the subject overall. Ensure you have a passing grade in your School Based Assessment component,” the former Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) POB examiner said.

Mrs. Buckle Scott was speaking at the handing over of more than $11 million in sponsorship fees by the National Commercial Bank Foundation (NCBF), at the Convent of Mercy Academy, Alpha, in Kingston, on February 3.

The fees are to support those students sitting the POA and POB in the 2016 CSEC examinations in May or June.

Mrs. Buckle Scott informed that this public and private sector partnership has gone a far way in enabling students to “maximize their capabilities…for national development.”

She commended the NCBF for their contribution to the development of education in the nation as well as the partnership they have formed with the Education Ministry that has managed to touch so many young lives.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Overseas Examination Commission (OEC), Sharon Burnett, lauded the NCBF for their corporate social responsibility. She expressed hope that other corporate entities would follow in the footsteps of the National Commercial Bank.

Chairman of the NCBF, Thalia Lyn, said the Foundation is committed to nation building by focusing on education, youth leadership, entrepreneurship and community development and sports.

“We spent over a $1 billion impacting over 160,000 Jamaicans. At NCB Foundation, we are passionate about education, which is the catalyst for social change,” she said.

Principal of the institution, Mrs. Kali McMorris, said the bursary would enable students across the island to sit extra subjects at no cost to them.

“This will allow a student to matriculate to any tertiary institution. It (will) afford them the skills that they need. Principles of Accounts and Principles of Business are lifelong skills,” she said.

Started in September 2003, the NCBF fee sponsorship programme began supporting the Education Ministry’s initiative to assist students at the secondary level, in meeting the minimum qualifications required for entry to a tertiary institution.

Since its inception, over $118 million has been paid over for 92,313 students. The Convent of Mercy Academy, Alpha, represents the largest number of student entrants for the May or June sitting.