Describing education and skills training as the bridge from poverty to prosperity, Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, says the Administration values people development and has increased funding to support critical areas within the sector.
“Despite everything, the hurricane, once-in-a-generation economic fallout, and geopolitical upheavals around the globe, the Government increased the allocation to the Ministry of Education,” the Minister said, as she made her contribution to the debate on the Appropriation Bill 2026 in the Senate, recently.
“This was done because we see education and skills training as a pathway from poverty to prosperity. When one stands back and examines our 26/27 Plan of Action for Human Capital Development, a coherent continuum emerges. The task now, however, is execution. We’ll now take these announcements, as we always do, from the pages of the ‘yellow book’ to the people,” she continued.
The Minister pointed out that people development is central to national development and highlighted several of the initiatives that will be undertaken in the 2026/27 fiscal year.
Some of the initiatives the Minister pointed out, included implementation of the Learning, Earning and Prosper (LEAP) Programme, aimed at expanding pathways from tertiary education to employment; implementation of a contractor incubator programme; ground-breaking ceremonies that will be held for the development of STEAM schools; and the placement of at least one trained teacher at every early-childhood institution across Jamaica.
“The STEAM schools must be built well and staffed properly. LEAP placements must be meaningful. Apprenticeship pathways must lead to real employment and the emergence of new industries. A resilient and resurgent Jamaica cannot be built by concrete or asphalt or any measure of capital expenditure alone. The new Jamaica will be built by trained minds, skilled hands, empowered teachers, and a confident people.
“This Administration is serious about Jamaica’s resurgence, and we are serious about unleashing the potential of people. This Appropriation Bill is the people’s Bill,” she said.
She further noted that the HEART/NSTA Trust will establish the Western School of Construction as part of efforts to expand the talent pool of construction-related persons.
“We know the West was damaged severely, and there are a lot of reconstruction projects there, and we need to have the workforce, so we have a school of construction in Portmore, but we need to have one in Montego Bay. So, we are going to be opening a school of construction in the West to increase the talent pool of construction-related trade persons in the West,” the Minister noted.
Furthermore, she said the contractor incubator programme will place selected graduates from HEART and the University of Technology (UTech) Jamaica on a structured developmental pathway.
The Minister indicated that the Government will be eliminating tuition fees at HEART/NSTA for all programmes up to Level 5. “It’s equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, so our children can get a bachelor’s degree for free,” she said.
She noted that provisions are in the budget to enable the 108 early-childhood institution across Jamaica to be staffed with at least one trained teacher.
“The Government will continue to provide lunch and breakfast for our worst-performing schools. In addition to that, in the yellow book, we know there are more special needs students in our country, and we have doubled the number of special needs assistants to 1,400,” she said.
The Minister said that measures will be taken to increase internet connectivity and noted that $100 million has been allocated to treat termites in schools.
“We’re adding satellite to the mix. We have acquired 800 smart boards, and every single primary school in Jamaica will get their computers for their computer lab. In addition, those numbers in the yellow book speak to 18 new schools that will get their security fencing,” she said.
The Minister added that funds have also been allocated for electrical upgrades and infrastructure repairs.
