Mark Titus, Freelance Writer

Jones

WESTERN BUREAU:

Maria Jones, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, says the Education Transformation Programme will cost approximately $250 billion over two decades to effectively transform Jamaica's learning system.

"The Ministry of Education is very conscious of its responsibility to facilitate and enable lifelong learning. Furthermore, Government is committed to ensuring that the financial resources exist to sustain the transformation programme, and you are talking in the vicinity of $250 billion over about 20 years," she said.

"However, I must caution that education transformation is not a short-term endeavour. It is a medium to long term, but decidedly an achievable goal."

Mrs. Jones was giving the keynote address at the graduation ceremony of 57 teachers from the Master's of Science Degree Programme in educational leadership and reading - offered by the Central Connecticut State University, in collaboration with Sam Sharpe Teachers' College and Mico University College - in Montego Bay, St. James, on Sunday.

She said the programme was in the third of the targeted 10 years, and is following the recommendations of the Task Force on Educational Reform. While many changes have been initiated in several areas, in the years ahead over 75 per cent of education transformation expenditure will be spent on school facilities and infrastructure.

"Through this programme, the Ministry of Education has commenced dismantling the dreaded shift system; reducing class and school sizes; and rationalising the school system into only primary and secondary institutions," Mrs. Jones continued.

Pointing to the results of data collected in October 2007, which showed that 37 per cent, or more than 9,000 of the island's 24,600 teachers, are university graduates, she said the nation was "without doubt" moving in the right direction.

The function was also attended by Dr. Carl Lovitt, provost and vice-president for academic affairs at the Central Connecticut State University.

The Master of Science degrees in Educational Leadership and Reading has been an ongoing programme with the colleges for almost a decade, and has seen an injection of more than 600 qualified and skilled professionals into Jamaica's educational system.