Commentary

IN HIS November 16, 2014, article 'The 70:30 Education System', Gleaner columnist and former prime minister of Jamaica Edward Seaga lamented that only 30 per cent of the grade 11 age cohort exiting the secondary education system annually is able to attain the benchmark of passes in five subjects in the Caribbean Secondary School Certificate (CSEC) examination, leaving a significant 70 per cent of the cohort falling behind.

We find it troubling that the advisory committee on climate change has not been properly constituted for the better part of 2014. A report in this newspaper stated that the 25-member Climate Change Advisory Committee had its last meeting in April.

I was surprised and disappointed to hear the news of the approval by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority and the National Environment and Planning Agency of the breakwater project in Negril.

The National Innovation Awards in Science and Technology again brought into national focus the importance of innovation for the growth and development of Jamaica.

Whether they subscribe to the Christian faith or are uneasy with the origins of the festival or its provenance as marking the birth time of Jesus Christ, billions of people around the world, including the vast majority of Jamaicans, are celebrating the Christmas season.

President Obama's decision to begin normalising relations with Cuba will advance United States' interests and those of the Cuban people. The 11 million people of this island nation have waited far too long - more than half a century - to fulfil their democratic aspirations and build closer ties with the rest of the world in the 21st century.