Senator Monteith Lauds School Boards

Minister of State for Education and Youth, Senator Noel Monteith, has lauded members of the island’s school boards for their contribution to the education sector and nation building.
“These ladies and gentlemen, through their contribution to education, have shown how volunteerism can impact the nation building process. They did not ask what their country can do for them, but instead, they demonstrated what they could do for their country,” he stated.
He was addressing the National Council on Education’s (NEC) 4th schools’ management awards ceremony held on Wednesday (May 16) at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club in Montego Bay.
According to Senator Monteith, school board appointees have had to respond to the challenges of the 21st Century, in terms of improving access to new technologies that can enhance the teaching/learning process. The Government for its part, he said, was re-examining the education system, with the aim of ensuing the Jamaicans are properly prepared to respond to the challenges and opportunities of the global society.
The Education State Minister, in the meantime, informed that the Ministry has embarked on a drive to improve stakeholder involvement at all levels of the education system, mentioning the recent formation of the National Parent Teachers Association and plans for the launch of a national association of school board chairmen by the end of May, as moves by the NCE to assist in this area.
Approximately 24 schools from the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Regions Four and Five, which comprise the parishes of St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, Manchester and Northern Clarendon, were presented with special awards by the NCE at yesterday’s ceremony.