Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, is urging Jamaicans to rethink how they define excellence in education.
The Education Minister pointed out that society tends to routinely focus on students’ achievement in tests such as the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, while ignoring true excellence in schools that are transforming lives against tough odds.
“When you take children who come into high school and are not literate yet, children who have parents who have never taught them… that there are rules that need to be followed and you get them to have some subjects when they finish, even if it’s two, that is excellence,” Dr. Morris Dixon stated.
She was speaking during a Principals’ Awards Ceremony for Kingston Western, held at the ROK Hotel in Kingston, under the theme ‘Leading Beyond the Call: Honouring Our Principals’.
The Education Minister said the country must understand that students are “starting from different places”.
“Our schools are getting different types of cohorts and so you can’t all get eight ones. The sameness of outcomes cannot happen if you don’t have the sameness of input, and so we have to speak about how we define excellence in education. We have to look at how we place value on schools and how we determine… what that success really looks like,” Dr. Morris Dixon stated.
Using examples from the constituency, which is home to schools in Quality Education Circle (QEC) 2, the Minister noted that it has the best technical and vocational education and training (TVET) project out of all secondary schools in Jamaica, at St. Andrew Technical High School (STATHS).
She also pointed out that Monique Holding, TVET student of the year for 2025, also hails from the area.
“The key to the future is TVET. If you look at OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) studies, UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) … all of the data is saying that if you want to be successful in the future, you need to be in TVET. That’s what the data shows,” Dr. Morris Dixon stated while commending STATHS for its outstanding performance in vocational training.
She emphasised that students in the constituency are excelling in ways that students from traditional schools will not.
Meanwhile, the Education Minister committed the Ministry’s support to schools in the constituency, while noting that Member of Parliament, Hon. Desmond McKenzie continues to advocate on their behalf.
She noted that support for an infrastructural project at the Denham Town High School will soon to be approved.
“We are moving on that project. It is currently at the Public Procurement Committee, which is its last step before going to Cabinet… and that is $1.5 billion for Denham Town High School…. Once we get all the approvals… then we can start construction,” the Minister informed.
She noted, as well, that Kingston High School is set to benefit from a $100-million project to address the school’s fence.
“This one is now out of our Public Procurement Committee and so its next step is Cabinet,” the Minister disclosed.
She added that STATHS is also set to benefit from a major infrastructure investment.
“Given what STATHS is doing and how good they’re performing, we’re looking at the future… . Right now, we’re in a drought. We’re talking about climate change a lot. So, at STATHS their lab will be a state-of-the-art renewable energy lab,” Dr. Morris Dixon stated.
She reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring that resources are allocated to schools where support is needed most.
“This one-size-fits-all in resourcing doesn’t really work… . We recognise that and we are going to be doing the work,” the Education Minister noted.
