Rev. Thwaites Pledges Computers for Training Centre at Middlesex Basic School

Education Minister, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, says he will be seeking to access computer equipment, through the Universal Service Fund (USF), for the establishment of a community training centre at the Middlesex Basic School in St. Elizabeth.

The Education Minister, who toured the school located in Holland Bamboo on December 3, said the institution has enough space to accommodate a facility for adult education and technology training, which would benefit community members.

“I am going to ask the Universal (Service) Fund if they would… provide you with a set of computers and also if they could make sure that you have Internet access here. When those things are in place or even before…could you invite the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning to come in because many of the parents, and for many of the other community members, they never had a chance to get a skill or a high school diploma,” he pointed out.

Middlesex Basic was established through funding from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund and is one of the legacy projects of Jamaica 50.

It boasts facilities and amenities to deliver quality learning to the students in attendance.

Minister Thwaites, in underscoring the importance of early childhood education, said “what we do here in terms of helping these little ones, who are like sponges…is going to define their success or failure for the rest of their lives.”

He reiterated the Government’s position to increase the number of qualified educators in the system.

He said the percentage of trained early childhood teachers has doubled to about

50 per cent over the last few years and “we need to double that…remember the early childhood teacher not only has to have the head, but has to have the heart.”

Meanwhile, Minister Thwaites is encouraging the school administration to use more local farm produce in the preparation of meals that are served to the children.

He said the move will improve the nutrition of students, while supporting the farmers in the area.