Marcus Garvey Scholar Committed to Education Reform

Educator, Sharna-Gay Brown-Davis’ passion for teaching led her to seek advanced training to address issues she has noticed during her 16 years in the classroom.

As an Agricultural Science teacher with a multifaceted tenure at the Manning’s School in Westmoreland, Mrs. Brown-Davis acknowledges that many educators are not adequately trained to identify and manage learning disabilities—an oversight that can leave some students behind academically and emotionally.

“I realised that there are a lot of issues [and], as a teacher, sometimes you see the issues and you say, ‘alright, I think I can manage to deal with the issue’. But I wanted to learn more about these issues, such as learning disabilities, because you realise now in Jamaica, there are a lot of learning disabilities and… we, as teachers, are not adequately trained to identify them,” she states.

On this premise, Mrs. Brown-Davis shares that after reviewing the course offerings within the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction Programme at the University of the West Indies (UWI), she recognised a clear alignment with her professional goals and classroom advocacy.

However, she tells JIS News that while she applied to the university, she was mindful of the financial challenge and time commitment the programme would require—particularly as a wife, mother of two, and full-time educator.

It was a friend, Jessica Davidson—one of the inaugural recipients of the Marcus Garvey Public Sector Graduate Scholarship—who encouraged Mrs. Brown-Davis to apply.

The Scholarship Programme is a Government initiative designed to strengthen Jamaica’s public service. It provides 100 per cent funding for public sector workers pursuing postgraduate studies in fields deemed essential to national development.

Mrs. Brown-Davis recalls that her friend pointed to several of her past accomplishments—including being crowned Miss Westmoreland Festival Queen in 2010 and Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) National Farm Queen in 2011—as compelling reasons to pursue the scholarship.

“I applied, and in the application process, I had to write three essays; in writing those essays, I did not know their impact. When I started writing those essays, I started to look back at my past, my future and now, and those essays actually brought into perspective a lot of things,” she notes.

As the Master of Education Programme commenced in September 2024, Mrs. Brown-Davis found herself in a state of quiet uncertainty. Despite having applied for the scholarship, she had yet to receive official confirmation from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, which administers the award.

She shares that her commitment to furthering her education remained unwavering. Determined to begin the programme, Mrs. Brown-Davis paid the required fees and enrolled in the UWI’s tuition payment plan.

Then one afternoon, while picking up her daughter from school, Mrs. Brown-Davis heard the familiar notification ping on her mobile phone. It was an email from the Finance Ministry congratulating her on being selected for the 2024 scholarship cohort.

“I say it every day, I have to give God thanks and I have to thank the Ministry of Finance because, when I looked, all the monies were paid until UWI had owed me over $200,000. So when the January term came, that money just rolled over. When everybody was looking for money and wanted scholarships, my school fees were covered,” Mrs. Brown-Davis recalls.

“And I know that come September it is going to be the same thing, because they had come on to pay for the two years,” the Frome Technical High School graduate adds.

The scholarship includes a mandatory clause that bonds recipients to Jamaica for five years following the completion of their studies.

Mrs. Brown-Davis says this is not an issue, as she hopes and aspires to contribute to the development of Jamaica’s education sector.

“I want to stay in Jamaica. I think I can add a lot of value. So my wish is to work in [the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information office] to aid in curriculum development… that’s my future goal,” she discloses.

“And even if I don’t [get to] go there, my aim is that I’ll help people…[ perhaps serving as] a principal or vice principal for a school where I can assist in curriculum development, because I believe once we have a strong curriculum in schools, students will learn,” Mrs. Brown-Davis says.

Regarding the broader impact of the scholarship programme, Mrs. Brown-Davis believes that strategic investments in human capital will play a critical role in helping Jamaica achieve its Vision 2030 goal of becoming “the place to live, work and do business.”

Established in 2020, the scholarship programme represents a five-year Government investment aimed at strengthening Jamaica’s public service. It enables recipients to pursue postgraduate studies—locally and internationally—in critical areas such as data science, public policy, public health, climate change, engineering, environmental management, cybersecurity, education, economics, and national security.

It has benefited over 90 public sector employees through an investment of $1 billion.

With 2025 marking the final year of the initial five-year commitment, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, has announced her intention to petition Cabinet for an extension of the programme for another five years.

Mrs. Brown-Davis, in supporting the expansion plans, highlights the opportunity it provides for individuals who have long faced financial barriers to higher education.

“I would say give little rural girls and boys, like me, the opportunity because, a lot of times, we find that the reason why we are not further in the educational landscape is because we didn’t have the financial resources,” she states.

Reflecting on her upbringing, Mrs. Brown-Davis admits she did not anticipate reaching her current position.

Yet, she is not entirely surprised—having always pushed herself to exceed expectations, adding that “it makes me appreciate [my achievements] more.”

“That is why I always say trust the process; God has a plan for you. I am 100 per cent sure that my journey has just begun… and this scholarship has pushed me even further in accomplishing a lot of goals,” Mrs. Brown-Davis declares.