Reference is made to the article 'STEM academy leaders out in cold' in your November 7, 2016 edition.Contrary to the assertions in the article, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programme in schools remains one of high...
The media have done an ordinary job of providing the public with information to seed the cloud of the debate over the issue of performance-based pay for teachers.We have lazily resorted to reporting 'he said this' and 'she said that', gargling the...
It is urgent that the Holness administration begin a full and frank discussion on the future of Jamaica's sugar industry, lest, as warned, the Government find that it has been, imperceptibly, drawn back into ownership of the business, or substantial...
Finally! Jamaicans, especially Jamaican women who speak of Hillary Clinton in hushed tones of awe, are able to exhale.Today, millions of US citizens select a new president. Their choices, Donald Trump, vilified as the epitome of evil by US media but...
Published:Sunday | November 6, 2016 | 12:00 AMHugh Dunbar
It is noteworthy that the University of Technology (UTech) was revealed to have so many of its courses not accredited. It is not a good thing that this state was allowed to transpire in the first place, and in most institutions and corporations, the...
I've been away from my beloved Jamaica for more than a month having one of those life-changing experiences. As part of President Obama's Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative, 250 entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean were brought to...
It was merely six weeks ago that Jamaica was swept up in the grief of the on-field collapse and sudden death of 17-year-old St George's College footballer Dominic James. He was the team's star and captain, who apparently also did well at his...
Our children are under attack. They are being preyed on for their money, their possessions, sex and revenge. Many also become collateral damage, simply by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. And we sit and watch. We read about these...
If you look at the 21st-century inventory of skill needs and our best hopes for really dramatic job creation, the strength and significance of the University of Technology (UTech) cannot be overstated. It must, therefore, be a matter of national...
Like most Jamaicans, I am severely and continuously traumatised by the pervasive and perennial, extreme and horrific violence being perpetrated across our island home. Our society has produced a subclass of people that operate far outside our laws...
I recently suffered the inconvenience of a police 'spot check' while cruising along the highway heading to a pordy in Porty.After putting out my spliff and informing the officer that I had misplaced my driver's licence, he politely requested my...
If Donald Trump were vying to be prime minister of Jamaica, he wouldn't come close. If he had a chance, it certainly would have evaporated after the emergence of video recordings of the Republican Party's nominee bragging about his ability, because...
Now we know it's November 28 for the local government polls, a mercifully short campaign season after a long wait for the announcement. Not only that! Thanks to the Debates Commission, we have two debates scheduled, which is just in time to remedy...
This is the last weekend before the US presidential elections set for Tuesday, November 8. Last week, our Government in Jamaica announced that the municipal elections will be held on November 28.Both elections provide a point of departure for...
Published:Saturday | November 5, 2016 | 12:00 AMBasil Been
The coconut is not indigenous to Jamaica. It is generally agreed that this palm was first introduced about the middle of the 16th century, and records show that it was common here by 1681. Initially, coconuts were planted near harbours and coastal...
It's news worth celebrating. Audley Shaw and others, however, must be careful lest they overhype the burgeoning, but still delicate, sprouts of economic growth. For, good green shoots, unless appropriately nurtured, can be easily stifled by bad...
Wonders never cease! Professor Colin Gyles, acting president of the University of Technology, has publicly admitted that a lot of academic programmes being offered by the institution are not accredited. At least "60 courses of study," according to...
My little brother came into this world early because of thieves. When I was 13, Mummy and I had returned home from school. She was nine months pregnant with my brother and her bladder was the boss of her. The routine was that I always went in first...
Published:Thursday | November 3, 2016 | 12:00 AMTony Deyal
Once upon a time, there lived in the Caribbean the Taino people. They gave us words like barbacoa (barbecue), hamaca (hammock), kanoa (canoe), tabaco (tobacco), yuca, batata (sweet potato), and juracan (hurricane).It was always thought that they...
Our hope of stifling a yawn for this local government elections by having the candidates discuss substantive issues is a wish, heading, it appears, for ignominious disappointment. At least, the campaign is starting that way.On Thursday, while the...
I read George Davis' very well-constructed questioning of a segment of The Lord's Prayer which was printed in The Gleaner of Wednesday, November 2, 2016. In it, you specifically targeted, what you divined, were...
"The notion that Uber in London is a mosaic of 30,000 small businesses linked by a common 'platform' is, to our minds, faintly ridiculous," said one of the judges on the employment tribunal. So the tribunal ruled that Uber's...
Last Sunday morning, I was shaken out of my bed by the strongest earthquake I have ever felt. My room on the top floor of my hotel in Rome, Italy, swayed like a rocking chair from a 6.6 tremor centred 170km to the north. It was frightening until I...
Published:Thursday | November 3, 2016 | 12:00 AMPaulton Frankson
It has become clear that Minister of Education Ruel Reid does not have a proper conception of the policymaking process and has surrendered the wisdom of technocrats to that of mediacrats. His desire to always be seen in a positive light in the media...
It's not time for wild celebrations, but surely, we as West Indian fans can feel a small sense of satisfaction at how the team performed in the Test series against Pakistan.Prior to this series, the West Indies have not won a Test in Pakistan since...
