The Education Transformation Oversight Committee (ETOC) is reporting a 37 per cent progress in the implementation of the 365 recommendations contained in the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC) report.
This represents a five per cent increase over the last reporting period.
Addressing Thursday’s (March 26) ETOC Press Conference at Shortwood Teachers’ College in Kingston, ETOC Chairman, Dr. Adrian Stokes, said the extensive project reviews carried out by the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information led to some tasks previously classified as ongoing now logged as completed.
“So, in other words, the Ministry was under-reporting some of the completed initiatives for previous quarters,” he explained.
Dr. Stokes advised that the project plan calls for a completion rate of 40 per cent by the end of the current period, that is, by March 31, 2026.
“From the guidance given by the Ministry and today is the 26th, the progress rate should be at or around the 40 per cent mark by the end of March,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ETOC Chairman noted that due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa, ETOC’s reporting cycle had to be amended and so too the transformation project plan.
“The infrastructure pillar in the transformation plan has taken on new focus, given the obvious need to rebuild and repair some schools. The Ministry has also taken the opportunity to optimise initiatives through consolidation of tasks and to simplify others based on learning, so far,” Dr. Stokes explained.
ETOC has been charged with monitoring the implementation of 365 recommendations contained in the JETC report, which was chaired by Professor Orlando Patterson.
Launched in July 2020, the JETC was mandated to comprehensively review and assess Jamaica’s education system, including its structure, operation and processes, and recommend an action plan for change.
