Battered schools, resilient results - Storm-hit western institutions make major gains in CSEC, CAPE WESTERN BUREAU: Before Beverley Feare could prepare her students for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, she first had to find them. Hurricane Melissa had torn through the communities served by Maud McLeod High School in eastern Westmoreland, damaging the school, displacing families, and cutting communication with students at a critical point in their preparation for the examinations.
‘Students must follow the rules’ - Education minister says schools’ grooming policies must be made clear to parents WESTERN BUREAU: Ahead of the start of the September school term, Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon is urging school administrators to ensure that students obey stipulated dress and grooming guidelines, while also imploring parents to encourage their children to follow the rules set by their schools.
‘I cannot change who I am’ - JTA boss vows to disrupt education status quo WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President La Sonja Harrison says she cannot change, declaring that she will continue to challenge the status quo and ask uncomfortable questions on behalf of teachers, even as she acknowledges that her outspoken approach has come at a cost. “I can’t change who I am. I really try not to be a hypocrite, I am a disruptor of the status quo,” Harrison said while addressing the eighth session of the 62nd JTA Conference, which was also attended by Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon on Wednesday.
Education minister dismisses call to remove ‘political influence’ from school boards WESTERN BUREAU: Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon has dismissed concerns that there is a need to remove what some have labelled ‘political influence’ from school boards. According to Morris Dixon, the key issue should be the qualifications and experience of board members and chairpersons. “I wouldn’t call it that [political influence]. I am ambivalent to a certain extent in terms of who nominates the chair on the board. I think the key thing is the qualification of the persons and their experience,” Morris Dixon said.
JTA holds fire on JTC bill WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President La Sonja Harrison says the association is waiting patiently to see the revised Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Bill before they are tabled, following assurances from Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon that the Government has accepted and acted on several of the teachers’ concerns. Morris Dixon said the Government’s legal teams are now finalising the amendments after she personally reviewed the JTA’s submission.
Report substandard post-Melissa repair work at schools, says education minister WESTERN BUREAU: Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon is urging teachers who observe substandard work, or little to no work at all, being done at their schools, which are undergoing repairs following Hurricane Melissa, to report it at once to the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth, and Information.
Backing big dreams As he enters his second year of law school at The University of the West Indies, Mona, 20-year-old Jaleel Smith is feeling more at ease after being awarded a scholarship that covers more than 50 per cent of his tuition fees. “It will allow me to go about the university life without being as anxious as first year was; dealing with student loans, dealing with the fact that my parents would have to go in further short-term death to deal with things, so (I now have) that peace of mind to be able focus more intently on my academics,” he told The Gleaner.
Teachers balk - JTA rejects pay package over benefits concern WESTERN BUREAU: Unresolved issues surrounding their uniform allowance and a graduate policy for educators pursuing further studies were among the main concerns raised by delegates on Tuesday as the Jamaica Teachers’ Association rejected the Government’s wage offer. The rejection was confirmed on Tuesday after delegates voted at the JTA’s 62nd annual conference at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny. Of the 213 delegates, 155 voted against the offer while 54 supported it. There was one spoiled ballot and three rejected ballots.
CXC FINDS MATHS FORMULA - Exam body to roll out more subjects as modular learning yields impressive results in pilot Students preparing for next year’s Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations will be able to take up to four subjects under the newest qualification, the Caribbean Targeted Education Certificate (CTEC). Following a successful pilot of the CTEC mathematics in this year’s May-June examinations, three additional core subjects –English language, English literature, and integrated science – will be offered next year. The programme is expected to expand to nine subjects during the 2027-2028 academic year.
Butchered in the bushes - Cattle farmers tremble over thieves’ midnight meat runs Cattle farmers in Colbeck, St Catherine, are living in fear as thieves repeatedly enter the community under the cover of darkness, steal their animals and slaughter them in nearby bushes in what the police suspect could be part of an illicit ‘meat for guns’ trade. The latest attacks have left small farmers counting losses in the millions of dollars and accusing the thieves of becoming increasingly bold and sophisticated in their operations.