The shift system in all public schools will be fully eliminated by the start of the 2028/2029 academic year. Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, outlined the Government’s timeline, during her address to delegates at the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) 61st Annual Conference, held at the Princess Grand Hotel in Green Island,...

Twenty-eight public-sector workers were awarded full scholarships to pursue graduate programmes that align with areas of national importance. This was facilitated through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service’s Marcus Garvey Public Sector Graduate Scholarship Programme. The 28 scholars, five of whom are from 2024, were recognised in a ceremony held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston...

The Hopewell Health Centre in Hanover, on Friday (August 8) became the 58th facility to be adopted under the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ (MOHW) Adopt-a-Clinic programme. The health centre was adopted by Tryall Fund and marked a milestone in the Government’s efforts to enhance primary healthcare through partnerships with private and philanthropic entities. In his remarks at the event,...

When the COVID-19 pandemic was officially declared over in May 2023, it left behind a trail of economic disruption and widespread financial challenges. For Melissa*, a law student who resided in the Corporate Area, the fallout was more severe than most. “Coming out of COVID, I lost everything… my job, my apartment and everything with it… because I could no...

Jamaica National (JN) Money Services has launched a $500,000 scholarship programme for children of farm workers on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (SAWP) in Canada. Six scholarships – two at each educational level – will be awarded: $50,000 for primary, $75,000 for secondary and $125,000 for tertiary. The JN Fields of Opportunity Scholarships was launched on Wednesday (July 9) at...

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that the Jamaican System of National Accounts has been updated to reflect international best practices, enhancing comparability and analytic relevance. The revisions to the Jamaican System of National Accounts include aligning the national accounts with the United Nations System of National Accounts 2008 (SNA 2008), adoption of the 2016 revision of the...

The first 25 of 110 buses being procured for the rural school bus system arrived at Kingston Wharves on Tuesday (June 24). The units will facilitate the phased rollout of the system at the start of the 2025/26 academic year in September, marking a major step in the Government’s efforts to provide a safe, efficient, affordable and reliable transport option...

Students have until July 11 to apply for the Universal Service Fund (USF) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Scholarship for the 2025/26 academic year. With the application period officially opened today, June 23, five students from underserved communities across the island will receive financial support to pursue academic studies in ICT locally. The initiative targets individuals who are former beneficiaries...

Jamaica’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab will be established at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech Ja) in St. Andrew, by September 1. In collaboration with the Amber Group, 100 data analysis engineers will be onboarded to create the lab and build agentic AI – a class of AI which can autonomously make decisions and take actions without constant human...

One hundred per cent of the major townships across Jamaica have been outfitted with public Wi-Fi through the Universal Service Fund (USF) Connect-Jamaica Public Wi-Fi Programme. To this end, some five new public Wi-Fi hotspots were deployed in the 2024/2025 Financial Year in Half-Way Tree (St. Andrew), Papine – University Square (St. Andrew), Mandeville (Manchester), Waterfront (Kingston) and Cross Roads...

For the past three years, 31-year-old Felicia Bethune has been attending the St. Thomas-based Yallahs High School, where she stays from the start of classes to the end, not to learn but to “shadow” her daughter, Daejhanae Lumsden, who has special needs. She shares with JIS News that she realised “very early” that her daughter was not “doing things a...

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to prudent economic management, stressing that Jamaica’s development will always take precedence over political expediency. Speaking during the East Central St. James Scholarship Programme Fundraiser at the Iberostar Hotel in St James on Saturday (May 3), Dr. Holness noted that while challenges persist, the country’s macroeconomic progress...