Minister Calls for Accountability to Improve on Achievements

The Minister of Education, Youth and Information, the Hon. Fayval Williams is urging Jamaicans to remain accountable for raising the achievement levels of all students.

She was speaking at the Jamaica Teacher’s Association (JTA) 57^th Annual Conference Church Service, held at the Faith Tabernacle Shiloh Apostolic Church, in Kingston on Sunday (August 15).

In her remarks, the Minister said embracing accountability will develop solutions that can improve the achievement levels for students.

“Accountability is not about blame or punishment. It means to take responsibility for results good or bad. It means finding solutions to problems and applying lessons learnt in order to approve future results. Being accountable is constructive because it focuses on the future,” she said.

She added that the Ministry will continue to work with the Jamaica Teacher’s Association (JTA) to develop those solutions.

“There is no divide between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and the JTA on the objectives of raising the achievement level of significantly more of our students,” she noted.

Meanwhile, Minister Williams also said Jamaicans should not be satisfied with 52 per cent of male students failing mathematics in 2021.

She noted that parents, guardians, communities, churches, central education ministry and herself should all be held accountable to the education sector, “without resorting to finger-pointing or blame.”

The theme for this year’s annual conference was “Bridging the Digital and Social Divide: Transforming Education for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development.”