The local public-education system has an oversupply of teachers. No joke. In fact, the Ministry of Education is reporting that approximately 1,500 extra teachers are in the nation's schools.
Scores of Jamaican children with learning disabilities are being left behind by an inadequate education system that spews out illiterates 26,000 at a time. The system not only fails to identify special-needs children, but expects them to compete without systematic intervention.
LOCAL COPS, tired of just seizing drugs and arresting the perpetrators, have turned their attention to tackling the problem on one of its most vulnerable fronts: the minds of children.
With every 10 steps he takes, he has to pump three litres of oxygen into his lungs or face possible death. That is how 58-year-old accountant Barrington Gordon, an outpatient of the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, lives from day to day.
The cash crunch affecting Jamaica has started to hit non-governmental organisations (NGOs) hard, with entities which care for homeless and mentally ill street persons facing a chronic food shortage.
The Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA) has accused some teachers of punishing children with learning disabilities for failing to grasp instructions as quickly as others. In its 2008-2009 annual report, the OCA also intimated that some of the students might be the victim of floggings at the hands of teachers.
Hundreds of men from across Kingston, particularly its inner cities, and other parishes are slated to attend a three-day men conference at the Bethel United Church of Jesus Christ on South Camp Road.
Jamaica's tarnished image earned from years of unacceptable treatment of children and adults under state care has been dealt another severe blow.The United Nations' special rapporteur on torture and other cruel...
Sarah Wilks received the Silver Pen award for her letter to the editor entitled 'Creating a Culture of Learned Helplessness'.Wilks spoke out against the phrase "poor people of Jamaica", saying that it was creating a...
The president of the Jamaica Volunteers Association spoke out against those who condemn the Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation.Professor Donald Morgan, president of the volunteers...
Residents of Claremont Heights Housing Scheme in St Catherine have been praised for their proactive approach to preserving the environmental value of their community.The words of encouragement came from South West...
The Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League (JCCUL), the umbrella group for the nation's credit unions, has donated $4.2 million to assist Haiti in its rebuilding effort after last month's devastating quake.President of the JCCUL, Yvonne Ridguard, told...
Digicel owner and Chairman Denis O'Brien has been named a goodwill ambassador for the city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti. The honour comes in recognition of O'Brien's dedication to helping Haiti recover and rebuild in the aftermath of the magnitude-7.0...
The Patricia Sinclair McCalla-led team appointed to carry out the transformation of the public sector has completed a first draft of the proposed changes, but it is still unable to say how many civil servants will lose...
THE GOVERNMENT is projecting that its elaborate road and infrastructure plan will create 18,000 new jobs yearly over the next five years. Transport Minister Mike Henry, in outlining plans for the Jamaica Infrastructure Road Development Programme...
WESTERN BUREAU:Tourism stakeholders watched an estimated US$250,000 (J$22,500,000) in revenue sail out of their hands as the captain of Royal Caribbean's Voyage of the Sea made a U-turn away from the port in Montego Bay...
An intimate group of family and close friends gathered yesterday at the private cemetery adjoining the University Chapel at Mona campus for the interment of late Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Professor Rex Nettleford's...
The Ministry of Education has rushed to dismiss claims that this year's sitting of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) could be in trouble because of administrative problems.The ministry was responding to concerns from Opposition Spokesman on...
An ambitious plan to provide troubled family members and embattled children the opportunity to give court testimony by video and audio recording was unveiled yesterday with the groundbreaking of a family court...
Food For The Poor (FFP) has revealed that over the past month, it has been able to provide relief to Haiti through the acquisition and delivery of more than 7,100 tons of food, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, building materials and other goods...
THE JAMAICAN Bar Association is insisting that the number of complaints being made against lawyers is not an indication of a rotten profession. The annual report of the General Legal Council (GLC) for 2008-2009 states that at the beginning of this fiscal year...
THE JAMAICAN Airline Pilots' Association's (JALPA) bid to take over Air Jamaica continues to experience difficulties and is heading for an almost certain collapse. A day after Contractor General Greg Christie told JALPA that it would be illegal for Government...
A 7.0 earthquake, similar to the one which struck Haiti on January 12 would cause major damage in Jamaica, according to NEM Insurance Company. Chris Hind, general manager of NEM, said the company commissioned several studies - working with the Earthquake...
JAMAICANS SHIRKING responsibility for their children are being warned to shape up or suffer dire consequences when the parent commission comes onstream. Prime Minister Bruce Golding, while speaking in Parliament this week, said the State would no longer...
