Published:Monday | August 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
A little over a year after United States President Barack Obama visited Jamaica and announced his flagship Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), the first crop of young people to participate in the programme has been announced.The US...
Published:Saturday | August 20, 2016 | 2:03 PMAndre Poyser
While there has been much talk about the 14.3 percentage point decline in student performance in this year's sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) mathematics exam, noted educators Dr Canute Thompson and Esther Tyson have...
Published:Tuesday | August 23, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) has experienced a 125 per cent increase in its revenue. The teachers' union raked in approximately $79 million as at the end of the financial year in March.Last year, revenue stood at $35 million as the...
Published:Sunday | August 28, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
As a Jamaican studying in Australia, Alrick Campbell acts as a cultural ambassador of sorts. His accent, the fame of Jamaican music, and the excellence of the country's athletes are constant topics of conversation as he makes his way around Canberra...
Published:Sunday | August 28, 2016 | 11:51 AMAndre Poyser
President of the Jamaica Association of Principals and Vice Principals (JAPVP) Linton Weir has registered strong opposition to the practice of schools recommending only some of its students to sit external examinations based on behaviour and...
Published:Sunday | August 28, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
As investigations continue into the power outage that blanketed the entire island on Saturday evening, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) Kelly Tomblin has promised to be open and transparent with the public...
Published:Sunday | August 28, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
While she was adamant that the islandwide power outage that left many Jamaicans in darkness for several hours on Saturday evening was not caused by a lack of engineering skill, Jamaica Public Service (JPS) chief executive officer Kelly Tomblin has...
Published:Wednesday | August 24, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Director of the CoalSwarm Project Ted Nace has said that Jamaica will be unable to meet its target, of 7.8 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, should it go ahead with the commissioning of the proposed 1,000-megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant...
Published:Wednesday | August 24, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Minister of Education Ruel Reid has moved to address concerns regarding the roll-out of the National Standards Curriculum (NSC).In a wide-ranging address to the 52nd annual conference of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), which concluded in...
Published:Tuesday | August 23, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
If the arguments of Greenpeace campaigner Lauri Myllyvirta are to be examined, fool's gold is how one can think of the promise of economic growth and jobs associated with the proposal from the Chinese to operate Alpart as an aluminium smelter...
Published:Tuesday | August 23, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
If his inaugural address as the 52nd president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) is anything to go by, it appears Howard Isaacs will be using his tenure as leader of the union body to address the issues of teacher training.For Isaacs,...
Published:Monday | August 22, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Minister of Education Ruel Reid has expressed confidence in the improvements in schools being spearheaded by his ministry.In an address to the nation, aired last night, Reid explained that the ministry was in the final stages of the Education System...
Published:Monday | August 22, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) has lamented the slow pace at which the Ministry of Education has been processing new teachers so that their status of employment can be made official.This, the association says, has impacted its ability to...
Published:Monday | August 15, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
An explosion that killed at least 21 people and injured five others last Thursday at a coal-fired plant in central China has not gone unnoticed by consulting mechanical engineer Howard Chin.He has argued that the incident should give the Jamaican...
Published:Sunday | August 14, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
In the land where the mountains kiss the sky and roll smoothly down to touch the earth, Candice Johnson-Rowe and Marvin Rowe have dared to make a new life.This is the land of high-rise cities, imperial palaces, mountainous national parks, and...
Published:Sunday | August 14, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
As with his previous performances in the Beijing and London Olympics, the collective expectations of the entire country were pinned on Usain Bolt as he sought to cement his legacy in the 100m finals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Those expectations were...
Published:Monday | August 8, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
As a senior engineer at Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart), Marvin Jackson made several trips to observe work at Hydro Brasil, the Brazilian operations of the Norwegian aluminium giant Norsk Hydro. What he did not foresee was that on his 2013 trip...
Published:Tuesday | July 19, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Member of Parliament (MP) Mikael Phillips has expressed disappointment at the fact that some of his parliamentary colleagues have been shirking their duty to attend parliamentary committee meetings."It is disheartening, because I consider the...
Published:Tuesday | July 19, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
It was a subdued mood that characterised the tiny room at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston where private-sector interests yesterday hosted Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who is in Jamaica to address trade and immigration...
Published:Monday | July 18, 2016 | 4:36 PMAndre Poyser
Public-Relations Officer for the Jamaican Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS), Linval Wright, has said the plans for abolishing auxiliary fees have not been fully thought through.The JAPSS executive was responding to further...
Published:Sunday | July 3, 2016 | 1:03 PMAndre Poyser
Of the 971 public schools in Jamaica only 208 or 21 per cent have registered their Parent Teacher's Association (PTA) with the National Parent Teachers Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ).In explaining the low levels of registration with the national...
Published:Sunday | July 10, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
While acknowledging that the majority of funds diverted from the National Housing Trust (NHT) over its 40-year history have been put to good use, Prime Minister Andrew Holness is arguing that such decisions limit the ability of the organisation to...
Published:Saturday | July 9, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland is convinced that the collective future of the Commonwealth can be shaped through the unique cultural and historical bonds which characterise the 53 nations which make up the...
