THE education ministry last week announced plans for a “centre of excellence programme” among selected traditional, technical and vocational high schools in the nation’s capital – Kingston

The project, according to the ministry, will be designed to enhance learning by creating a cluster of schools and moving students among the schools, so that they can benefit from exposure to different subject areas and skills and profit from the exchange of ideas to enhance learning.

Maxine Henry-Wilson, the education minister, said schools selected to participate in the programme are Kingston Technical High; Holy Trinity Comprehensive High; Wolmer’s High School for Girls; Wolmer’s High Schools for Boys; Kingston College; Charlie Smith Comprehensive High; Trench Town Comprehensive High; St Anne’s Secondary; St George’s College; Denham Town Comprehensive High; Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive; and St Andrew Technical High.

“We selected that cluster of schools because we think that they can learn from each other in terms of academic excellence… they can teach each other positive work and study habits by developing peer groups between them,” she said.

The minister, who was addressing an awards banquet hosted by the alumni of the Kingston Technical High School at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, said that a pilot model was tested among 17 traditional high and technical/vocational schools in the parishes of St Elizabeth and Westmoreland at a cost of $47 million.

The model, she said, saw the upgrading of infrastructure, equipment and laboratories in the institutions, and allowed for the movement of students within schools in the two parishes, where, in additional to the traditional subjects, they were exposed to vocational areas such as carpentry, industrial science, or cosmetology.

She said the students were moved around “because it was not possible for (the ministry) to fund the programme to the extent where every school had the same combination of skills that were offered”.

“.We can no longer prepare our young people the way we did, even 10 years ago. We want the products of our education system to be critical thinkers, problems solvers, team players and excellent communicators, (as opposed) to being just rote learners or rote performers,” said Henry-Wilson.

She said, too, that it is critical that vocational education and training become the direct means of providing workers with skills. “It is true that over the years, TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training) programmes were perceived by some as inferior, but it has now all been rethought and reformulated and technical and vocational education is an integral part of the offerings of the best schools and the best students.”

The education minister cited the example of Ardenne student, Daniel Thomas, who emerged as the first place student in the Caribbean Council Examinations (CXC), scoring 10 grades ones, three of which were for vocational subjects.

Meanwhile, Minister Henry-Wilson lauded the achievements of Kingston Technical, noting that the 108 year-old institution had produced graduates who have made stellar contribution to the country.

She encouraged the past students to strengthen their ties with the school even further, by seeking out opportunities to act as mentors to the present student population.

During the function, awards were presented to five distinguished past students – Trevor Shaw, director of surveys and mapping at the National Land Agency; Dr Ian Blair, senior vice- president of operations and development at the Port Authority of Jamaica; Victor Hamilton, chartered accountant; Victor Hunter, retired customs officer and Carmen Tipling, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Information Service.