Land being acquired for MoBay STEAM institution, says Chang
Published:Friday | June 28, 2024 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
FOUR YEARS after announcing plans for the construction of a new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM] institution in his St James North Western constituency, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang says that he is securing land for a similar school to be built in due time.
Chang, who is also the minister of national security, made the declaration on Tuesday while addressing the launch of the University of Technology [UTech] Western Jamaica Campus’ STEM summer camp, held at the school’s Dome Street campus in Montego Bay.
“There is a legacy of STEM activity in the western region, [and] at a policy level, the government is committed to expanding opportunities in STEM. We’re also in the process of constructing six STEM schools, and one STEAM [science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics] school. The monies have been located, and when the monies are located, the work is set,” said Chang.
“We will be opening the first one in Portmore very soon, and I am acquiring the land for the second one in Montego Bay. The one in Montego Bay will be the STEAM school … we had the land, but the highway cut across through that partition of land,” Chang explained, referencing the ongoing Montego Bay Perimeter Road construction project.
In January 2020, Chang had previously announced that Montego Bay’s planned STEM school would be built in the Norwood community in his constituency, with expectations that boys would be enrolled there in the initial stages due to young Jamaican males being marginalised in the education system.
At that time, 25 acres of land owned by the St James Municipal Corporation between Ironshore and Norwood was identified for the site of the proposed STEM school, with an aim to start the construction plans that year.
In March 2023, the Victor Lowe STEM Centre was opened at Manning’s School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, while Mountt Alvernia High School in Montego Bay officially opened two renovated classrooms for its STEM curriculum in June that year. In November, plans were announced to build one of the government’s six proposed STEM schools in St Ann.
Regarding the timeline for the intended STEAM institution’s construction, Chang told The Gleaner that he would leave that announcement to the Ministry of Education.
“Regarding the land in Ironshore, the land acquisition is proceeding, and by the end of the year the Ministry of Education can give a timeframe on it, they will respond to that. The land is acquired and the budget is in place from the Ministry of Finance,” said Chang. “The STEM/STEAM schools are a priority for this government, and we want to create a cadre of schools that will emphasise those topics.”
Meanwhile, Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry [MBCCI] President Oral Heaven told Tuesday’s launch that the western city is in a prime position to benefit from investments in STEM education.
“Jamaica has been declared a STEM island, and this is a testament to our growing prominence in the global STEM landscape. This designation opens the door for so many things through multinational STEM investments, real money for our people, positioning Jamaica as a hub of innovation and technological advancement. It is imperative, therefore, that we attract some of these investments to Montego Bay, and we must focus on the positives and potential solutions that STEM can offer,” said Heaven.
UTech’s STEM summer camp, which has had previous stagings but is being held this year for the first time at its western campus, will target up to 100 young people from communities in St James, Trelawny, and Hanover, with activities to include examination of STEM-related careers, meeting with STEM mentors, and various hands-on activities.
It will be held in two phases for junior and senior attendees, with juniors attending from July 8-19 and the older youths attending from July 15-26.