PM Says no Student Will be Left Behind
By: December 13, 2014 ,The Key Point:
The Facts
- She pointed out that the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) is one of several initiatives designed to offer a second chance for educational attainment to students aged 16 to 18, who have not performed well in traditional school exit examinations.
- Mrs. Simpson Miller said while educational successes are celebrated, the administration acknowledges existing challenges in the system, and provides support to address them
The Full Story
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, says students who leave the school system without marketable competencies will not be left behind, as the Government will continue second chance programmes.
She pointed out that the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) is one of several initiatives designed to offer a second chance for educational attainment to students aged 16 to 18, who have not performed well in traditional school exit examinations.
The Prime Minister was delivering the keynote address at a teaching strategy symposium organized by CAP, in collaboration with the Union Institute and University, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in New Kingston, today (December 13).
She explained that the CAP initiative provides for young people, “training that will help them obtain a career for life, earn certification and find a job.”
Mrs. Simpson Miller said while educational successes are celebrated, the administration acknowledges existing challenges in the system, and provides support to address them.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the forum would offer expert solutions for the benefit of Jamaican children.
“Secondary school teachers from across the island can gain even greater insight and apply practical international best practices in education for the benefit of our children,” she said, adding that part of the continued transformation of education is to ensure that teachers are equipped and empowered to guide children.
The Prime Minister commended the Ministry of Education for inviting the international presenters to assist in the training of teachers, and urged the educators to “gain all that you can” from the sessions.
“This process provides our teachers with a global perspective on how to successfully teach young adult learners,” she noted.
The University awarded two scholarships valued over $3 million to two CAP students at the Haile Selassie High School, in St. Andrew.
The seminar, with leading Professors from the University, looked at effective teaching styles among young adult learners, strategies for developing interactive lessons/classroom for adult learners, classroom management, and strategies for addressing multiple intelligence.
CAP was implemented in 2010 as a second chance for students aged 16 to 18 to fulfill their career goals. Since then, the programme has been restructured to enable greater levels of efficiencies in its administration and outcomes. For the current academic year the projection is for just over 6,000 students to participate in the programme, up by 2,000 over last year. A total of $273 million will be spent on CAP.