Growth & Jobs | Place even more emphasis on STEM, JN Foundation chair urges

PARRIS A. LYEW-AYEE, chairman of the JN Foundation, is urging the education ministry to place even more emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to prepare students for the “high-tech era”.

Lyew-Ayee was addressing the JN Foundation Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Scholarship Reception at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston earlier this month. A total of 37 scholarships and 10 grants were awarded to students for their performance in PEP. The 37 students join approximately 150 others currently benefitting from JN Foundation scholarships.

Acknowledging the emphasis already being placed on STEM education by the Government, with the scheduled construction of six STEM schools and a realising a marginal increase in mathematics at CSEC in 2024, Lyew-Ayee noted that transformation is taking place unnoticeably. He went on to say:

“There is a lot of talk of educational transformation, but it is really hard to notice transformation when we are in the middle of it. Transformation is already happening, whether we know it or not.

“We are quite aware that this is a very high-priority issue for the Ministry of Education. Moreover, we should fully realise that the world these scholars will graduate into in five and 10 years’ time is not the same as the world we are in today. A lot of this societal transformation will be digital, and I encourage you to place emphasis on STEM programmes to prepare our young people for this high-tech era. Make them less afraid of mathematics and the sciences,” the JN Foundation chairman, who is a geologist and former head of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, added.

He emphasised that the transformation is paramount because schools, by design, are meant to provide solutions to various social problems.

“Even you at the ministry have challenges beyond curricular programmes and school operations. Inevitably, the challenges of society drift into the schools, and it is from the schools that we arrive at long-term solutions,” he said. “Violence in schools is now endemic, and tragic. But let us give these scholars the hope that they will never experience this threat and bring in a new age of truly productive students and schools beyond the books.”

Dr Kasan Troupe, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education and Youth, who was guest speaker at the reception, pointed out that the 2024 cohort of PEP students have demonstrated that transformation is happening in the education system.

“This is the group of PEP scholars that has demonstrated that we’re making some improvements in the education sector,” she informed. “When Mr Lyew-Ayee spoke about transformation, this group shows that we are making progress. I was at a forum last week, and I used your results to say to Jamaica, please be optimistic, there is reason for optimism. And I showed data when our students started out at grade four and how they ended at grade six, and there was a big improvement in performance, even with the pandemic.”

She also encouraged the students to believe in their abilities.

“Invest in yourself and believe in your capacity to shine,” she advised each of the JN scholars and grant recipients. “All the nourishment that was mentioned earlier, such as curiosity, hard work, discipline, love and support, can only work if you have that spark that is within you.”