Madam Speaker, this year is my seventh year of making a contribution to Sectoral Debates. I am deeply appreciative of the honour and privilege granted to me by the people of St. Andrew Eastern to serve the national interest as a Member of Parliament in this Honourable House. I also wish to thank the Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, for allowing me the opportunity to continue doing so as Minister of Education and Youth.
I could not carry out this task without the full support and encouragement of my family, the dedicated workers in the constituency of St. Andrew Eastern and my two very dedicated CPOs who go beyond the call of duty. To all of you, I express my heartfelt thanks.
Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to also thank the team of senior officers and general staff at the Ministry of Education and Youth led by Mrs. Maureen Dwyer, Permanent Secretary (Acting) and Dr Kasan Troupe, Chief Education Officer (Acting) as well as other members of the Executive Management team, portfolio agencies and all who serve the Ministry of Education and Youth for their commitment and dedication in working to implement the Government’s policies and programmes.Through the service and commitment of the central ministry, its seven (7) regions and the various entities, thousands of Jamaican children are being helped each year to take advantage of the opportunities that the public education system, with its 25,700 teachers, allows them to follow a pathway to personal, social and economic advancement.
Setting the Contex
Madam Speaker, I was sworn in as Ministry of Education, Youth and Information on Sunday, Septm 13, 2020. It helps that I remind myself from time to time of this date because schools were shuttered. The Ministry of Health and Wellness reported on that day that Jamaica had a total of 3,933 confirmed cases of COVID-19 virus. The age of persons who had confirmed cases ranged from 13 days to 97 years.1 Primary and secondary schools, which had opened, every year,n like clockwork on the first Monday of every September month stretching back to 1965 when the Education Act came into force remained closed.