Jamaica Government Says No Student Will Be Left Behind

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says it will continue to provide “second chance” programs for students who leave the school system without marketable competencies.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, speaking at a teaching strategy symposium on Saturday, said that the Career Advancement Program (CAP) is one of several initiatives designed to offer a second chance for students aged 16 to 18, who have not performed well in traditional school exit examinations.

The symposium was organized by CAP, in collaboration with the Union Institute and University.

Prime Minister Simpson Miller said that the CAP initiative provides for young people, “training that will help them obtain a career for life, earn certification and find a job.”

She said while educational successes are celebrated, the administration acknowledges existing challenges in the system, and provides support to address them.

Prime Minister Simpson Miller said that the forum would offer expert solutions for the benefit of Jamaican children.

“Secondary school teachers from across the island can gain even greater insight, and apply practical international best practices in education for the benefit of our children,” she said, adding that part of the continued transformation of education is to ensure that teachers are equipped and empowered to guide children.

The forum provided an opportunity to examine effective teaching styles among young adult learners, strategies for developing interactive lessons/classroom for adult learners, classroom management, and strategies for addressing multiple intelligence.

CAP was implemented in 2010 as a second chance for students aged 16 to 18 to fulfill their career goals. Since then, the program has been restructured to enable greater levels of efficiencies in its administration and outcomes. For the current academic year, the projection is for just over 6,000 students to participate in the program, up by 2,000 since last year. A total of J$273 million (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.004 cents) will be spent on CAP.