Hundreds of students in St. Elizabeth, who lost classroom time due to Hurricane Melissa, are benefitting from an extra classes programme aimed at getting them back on track ahead of upcoming examinations.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) in collaboration with the Education, Skills, Youth and Information Ministry and other partners, is targeted at students who are preparing for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and City and Guilds examinations.
It involves the delivery of structured lessons in mathematics, English, science, information technology, and electronic document preparation and management for secondary students along with PEP preparation for primary pupils, by qualified teachers.
The sessions begin on April 4, with classes being held every Saturday over a four-week period.
Speaking at the official launch on April 7 at Jack Sprat Treasure Beach in St. Elizabeth, Regional Director for the Ministry’s Region 5, Susan Nelson-Smith, said that the intervention is addressing learning loss in the affected schools.
“Not all of our schools were able to reopen in terms of full operations after the hurricane. JPS has stepped in and partnered with us to provide extra lessons for these students, and so the students will be attending classes so that they can get that additional support as they prepare for their exams,” she pointed out.
She noted that the students are being provided with lunch and snacks to reduce the economic pressure on parents as they rebuild their homes post-hurricane.
In an interview with JIS News, Manager of the Community Renewal Department at the JPS, Marilyn McDonald, noted that the initiative also covers stationery and stipend for teachers, as well as transportation for students who may find it challenging to reach classes.
“At JPS, we’re not only about infrastructure development, but we’re about touching lives, and we really want to impact the lives of our students to ensure that they are also successful in their examinations,” she noted.
Student at Aberdeen High School, Demarley Barnaby, told JIS News that the sessions have fostered a better understanding of his City and Guilds subject areas.
“The extra lessons have been helping me a lot in classes. I have more understanding of the subjects when I’m in class and I perform better among my colleagues,” he said.
Grade 11 student at the institution, Akaylia Simpson, noted that the programme has already fostered significant progress in her exam preparations.
“The extra lessons have helped me with completing extra topics on the subjects that I didn’t get to complete previously, and it has been a big help because in the normal time (last school term) the teachers didn’t get to teach classes because of the hurricane,” she said.
She thanked the organisers of the initiative.
“I am so grateful for everything and because of these extra lessons, we can now say that we’re on track again,” she said.
The JPS extra lessons programme is a $10 million initiative targeted at over 1000 primary and secondary-level pupils in St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland.
In Westmoreland, students underwent intense three-hour classes from April 7 to 10.
