KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Education, Youth and Information Ruel Reid has announced the rollout of new initiatives to help students and teachers better prepare for examinations such as Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) in March and Caribbean Examinations Council Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CXC CSEC) in May/June 2017.

Additionally, the ministry said in a news release today that other initiatives such as the Alternative Pathways to Secondary Education started in March 2016 and a pilot school bus service, which began in November, are set to continue this year.

In a broadcast to the nation yesterday, Reid said the ministry intended to provide greater support to school leaders and teachers to improve the performance and general development of students and to cater to their varied welfare needs.

“We intend to customise education to suit the needs of each student, giving him/her the opportunity to maximise his/her potential,” he said.

The ministry has already started a series of Professional Development Sessions for teachers to provide additional support to a select set of schools as they prepare their Grade 11 students to sit the 2017 Caribbean Examinations Council Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate examinations in mathematics, English language and the sciences. A series of workshops has also been started for students to better prepare them for the examinations.

In his national broadcast ahead of the reopening of schools for the easter term, Reid said the ministry intended to support legislative changes to allow for programmes and entities to be more inclusive and efficient.

He noted that last September, Jamaica had one of the smoothest starts to the school year.