Clarke urges teachers to lift standard of education

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland:Member of parliament for Central Westmoreland, Roger Clarke, has urged school stakeholders to lift the standard of education in his constituency.

"Education is the only leveller in the society. It is the only thing that brings you on the same level, so we have to find a way to lift the standard of education in the constituency," said Clarke during a recent awards ceremony to honour retired principals at Hotel Commingle in Savanna-la-Mar.

"As we move into the 50th anniversary as a country next year, let us resolve that we gonna work together to lift this country up and the way we're gonna do it is through education."

He explained that his team would be visiting the schools to ascertain their needs and to see how best they can be addressed. There are a total of five secondary schools in Central Westmoreland; three all-age and junior high; one community college; one HEART Trust/NTA facility; 10 primary schools; 10 preparatory institutions and 30 early-childhood institutes.

Deputy Mayor Paul Wilson told the educators to find ways to access funding available for the development of schools.

"Hundreds of millions of dollars are unutilised each year, which are available through JSIF (Jamaica Social Investment Fund), Digicel and EU (European Union) because we don't access them," Wilson said.

"The challenge therefore is to the parent-teacher association to position themselves to access these funding which are left untouched each year."

The retired principals recognised were Lileth Garwood of Savanna-la-Mar Primary; Joyce Green, Cokesview Primary; Gloria Wagstaffe, The Manning's School, and Rylan Mitchell of Sir Clifford Campbell Primary.