MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Principal of Church Teachers’ College in this town, Dr Garth Anderson, is set to take on the role today as the new president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA).

Outgoing president, Georgia Waugh-Richards will pass the leadership baton at the organisation’s 54th annual conference at Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay.

The activities for the conference are planned for August 19-22 and the week started with a church service at St Mark’s Anglican (Mandeville Parish Church) yesterday.

It is customary, according to Secretary General of the JTA Byron Farquharson, for the service to be held at the church of the incoming president.

“We are not on unfamiliar grounds, because the Mandeville Parish Church has blessed the Jamaica Teachers’ Association with outstanding past presidents… We are part of this noble tradition. as an association we affirm and continue to reaffirm our total commitment to the hands of God,” he said.

In his message to the congregation, Reverend Father Douglas Barnes, director of Christian education in the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, said that it takes humility for a person to admit that he/she does not know everything.

He said that while waiting on the Lord is not often easy, it must be done, and is a reminder that we are not in charge.

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Deanroy Bernard, who brought greetings on behalf of Minister Ruel Reid, said that as policy advisors and administrators they feel a strong sense of hope for education in Jamaica.

“Certainly, the hope is not a pie in the sky hope nor a pipe dream, as they would say. The hope is based on the many improvements that continue to bloom in our education system,” he said.

Bernard said that numeracy and literacy grades are trending in the right direction and that there is progress in examinations such as the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination, and the City and Guilds.

The permanent secretary said that more teachers are now improving their craft and are practising with at least a first degree as a result of a partnership with the JTA and his ministry, adding that more professional development efforts are underway for educational transformation.

Among the highlights of the conference will be the official declaration of educator Owen Speid as the president-elect.

He is in line to serve after Anderson’s tenure.