Performance of Schools in Tech-Voc Project has Improved

Performance in the technical/vocational areas of schools participating in the Tech-Voc Rationalisation Project has improved significantly over the years, according to a Ministry Paper tabled by Minister of Education, Andrew Holness in the House of Representatives on May 20.
The purpose of this project is to rationalise the existing Technical and Vocational programmes in the secondary system by upgrading present instructors and technical and vocational laboratories.
“Centres of Excellence” are established and schools are organized into clusters in the pilot parishes of St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland. This project is the sharing of resources, where students access their preferred options in their geographic cluster, the document explains.
In order to facilitate the movement of students from home schools to lab schools, a shuttle service is provided by the project. Currently, there are nine buses, two of which were acquired since September 2007.
Another cluster of schools in the Kingston Metropolitan Area has started participating in the project. Two buses have been acquired for the transportation of students.