Jamaica

ECC Says Corporal Punishment Must End

Submitted by Althea on Sep 25, 2014 02:31 am

 

Commissioner of the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), Dr. Rose Davies, says the organization remains strident in its quest to rid the nation’s schools of the practice of corporal punishment. Noting that the practice is still very prevalent in some schools, Dr. Davies said the ECC has been working with teachers in developing alternative approaches to corporal punishment.

Education System Needs Another Seismic Game-Changer

Submitted by Althea on Jun 23, 2014 02:35 am

 

"The best way to improve the American [Jamaican my insert] workforce in the 21st century is to invest in early childhood education, to ensure that even the most disadvantaged children have the opportunity to succeed alongside their more advantaged peers." -- James Heckman [Nobel Laureate in Economics]

Teachers are from Saturn, parents are from Jupiter

Submitted by Althea on Jun 23, 2014 02:09 am

 

MEMO to the nation's self-help gurus: Why not write a book on fixing relationships between teachers and parents? Call it Teachers are from Saturn, parents are from Jupiter.

While parents worry about what their kids learn, teachers are more concerned with how they learn. While the parents see the product, the teachers live the process.

Education Ministry Improving Numeracy among Boys

Submitted by Alesia on Apr 29, 2014 09:55 am

The Ministry of Education is implementing strategies aimed at improving the performance of boys in numeracy, and enabling them to be more focused on Mathematics.

ECC teachers to be assigned to multiple schools

Submitted by Alesia on Apr 29, 2014 09:35 am

CULLODEN, Westmoreland — Chief Education Officer Dr Grace McLean says plans are in place for teachers to be assigned to more than one school in a bid to guarantee that every early childhood student is taught by trained early childhood teachers. 

"As we speak we are currently crunching the numbers, looking back at the Budget with a view to see how many more teachers we will be able to engage in clusters, so that you can serve basic schools, say two days per week for this one, and another two days for this one and one day for another," Dr McLean argued. 

Please join the Caribbean Partners for Educational Progress Community of Practice (CoP) and guest moderator Dr. Paula Daley-Morris for an EduExchange discussion onthe impact of the liberalisation of the telecommunications in Jamaica.

To join this discussion, click "Sign in to join this discussion" button to the right and sign in with your CoP account. Please email the Facilitators with any questions about registering or participating in this EduExchange.

Forum

Welcome
Day 1 April 22, 2014 Economical, Social & Educational Changes that Resulted from the Liberalisation of Telecommunications in Jamaica
Day 2 April 23, 2014 Liberalisation as a Catalyst for the Uncontrollable Rise in Cybercrimes in Jamaica
Day 3 April 24, 2014 The Legal Gaps Created by the Liberalisation of Telecommunications in Jamaica

The liberalization of telecommunications in Jamaica has far reaching effects.  Liberalization removed the monopoly of Cable and Wireless on the Jamaican telecoms industry.  According to Golding (2012),

"Prior to 1999 the Jamaican telecommunications sector was dominated by Cable and Wireless Jamaica, (C&WJ) …[because] in 1988 the company was granted five exclusive licenses each for 25 years, which would be valid until 2013, with options for extensions for a further 25 years. The licenses made C&WJ the sole provider of the island’s domestic and international telephone service and guaranteed an after-tax rate of return of 17.5% - 20%. The Minister responsible for telecommunications had the authority to establish minimum standards of service quality… C&WJ basically regulated itself with limited government supervision. The Jamaican Government (GoJ) in an effort to develop a competitive and vibrant telecommunications industry and to move Jamaica towards knowledge-based connected society, embarked on an effort to liberalize the telecommunications industry. This led to the phased liberalization of the sector in September 1999."

There is a tendency to discuss positives that liberalization have caused without linking those changes to societal issues that came about with improved telecoms access.  Certainly, liberalization has changed the way that Jamaicans communicate, do business and access communication.  It is responsible for the growth that is evident in the entertainment business, the way people access educational opportunities and a slew of other developments such as the regularization of the cable television industry and mobile communication industries.  

It is true, that liberalization of this sector has resulted in important economical, social and educational changes. However, it is also the catalyst for the uncontrollable rise in cybercrimes.  Liberalization although positive for the most part occurred in a society that was ill-prepared to police the societal ills that came with it.  I speak of deviant and dishonest practices that have impacted the Jamaican society in many ways, i.e. the grow in the pornography and child pornography sector; web-supported white collar crimes; wide scale hacking; computer and telephone scamming; sexting, cyber stalking, voyeurism, increased petty crimes, such as the stealing of cell phones, tablet computers, to name a few.   The Jamaican society was made ready to extract the improvements in lifestyle, but the common man was not prepared to defend himselves against the potential victimization that came with liberalization of the telecoms industry.

This forum provides a platform through which we can examine the opportunities and identify the threats of liberalization.  

 

A Life-line for Balaclava

Submitted by Althea on Mar 25, 2014 05:04 am

 

SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — For most of the last century, Balaclava in north east St Elizabeth — close to the three-cornered meeting point of Manchester and Trelawny — was a thriving, bustling town.

All that changed in the 1990s with the collapse of Jamaica's passenger railway service.

All of a sudden, Balaclava which - for as long as anyone could remember — had been a vital cog in the rail link from Kingston to Montego Bay, found itself short of economic and social relevance.

English Lessons for Jamaica

Submitted by Althea on Mar 24, 2014 04:56 am

British Council project to help local educators, students

THE British Council of Jamaica will, in a matter of weeks, roll out an international programme to help local educators better prepare students to speak and use the English Language effectively as it has now been determined that Jamaica is not quite an English-speaking country.

In fact, Jamaica is the only so-called English-speaking nation in the world to benefit from the programme and only one of two countries in the Caribbean, the other being Cuba, whose official language is Spanish.

UTech Software to Boost Learning at School for Deaf

Submitted by Althea on Mar 13, 2014 02:25 am

 

THE University of Technology recently presented a copy of its recently developed e-learning software — U-Touch — to the Lister Mair Gilby School for the Deaf at a ceremony held on the grounds of the school in St Andrew.

TEACHING WITH 21st CENTURY TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE: POSTER DISPLAY and ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

Submitted by Alesia on Feb 24, 2014 15:11 pm

The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) will be hosting its first Teaching with 21st Century Technology Showcase from April 14-16, 2014 (between12 noon to 2 p.m. each day). The technology showcase is designed to provide an opportunity for faculty to share how they have integrated technology into their teaching on The UWI, Mona Campus. The event will showcase exemplary cases of teaching with technology, and through the sharing of best practices, inspire faculty to use technology in innovative ways.

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