Erica Virtue, Staff Reporter
JAMAICA'S dominance in the regional science competition continued in 2000, with the country's 21-member contingent winning 21 gold, six silver and 10 bronze medals, for a total of 37 medals - three more than it did in 1998.
The biennial event, which was recently concluded in Dominica and which included competitors from across the Caribbean, saw Jamaica outclassing its rivals in the research section of the competition, taking 22 medals, including 15 gold, two silver and five bronze.
Jamaica's remaining six gold, four silver and five bronze medals were won the in the public speaking competition.
According to officials, this was the sixth consecutive two-year period that Jamaica was dominating the event.
Head of delegation and Knox Community College lecturer, Dr. Errol C. Miller, said that the competition attracts scientific participation from youngsters from the primary to tertiary levels.
"Our students are very thorough and focused where scientific research is concerned. This is the reason for their continued dominance which was reflected in their own academic performance," he told Generation Today recently.
According to him, Jamaica's greatest strength was in the sixth form, tertiary and out-of-school/college categories, where 23 out of 26 awards were won. In the primary division, Jamaica won six of eight awards, in the lower secondary division, Jamaica won three out of six and in the upper secondary category, they won five out of eight awards.
Dr. Miller said that Jamaica's recent performance continues to raise scientific awareness and participation among the country's young.
The competition, in which 11 territories participated, had as its theme, "Science, Mathematics and Technology: Crossing the frontier into the New Millennium". There were a total of 113 research exhibits of which 29 were displayed by the young Jamaican scientists.
There were more than 500 participants at the fair, and Jamaica's delegation was selected based on their performance in the Association of Science Teachers of Jamaica (ASTJ) Schools and Colleges "out of school activities" this year.
