The National Standards Curriculum (NSC) has been exposing students in primary and secondary schools to agriculture, says National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) director in the Education, Youth and Information Ministry, Denworth Finnikin.

Addressing the 2019 Jamaica 4-H Clubs National Achievement Expo at the Denbigh Showground in May Pen on April 5, Finnikin informed that among the students benefiting at the primary level are those in grades four to six.

“At those grades, we have projects such as container gardening, ornamental horticulture, and vegetable gardening to ensure that we are supporting and building a cadre of farmers to secure the food industry,” he said.

The National TVET director informed that there are more than 120 high schools out of 171 that are pursuing agriculture.

“We want to increase that amount. We have well over 3,000 students sitting agriculture at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination level, and we [also] want to increase that amount,” he said.

“So, we continue to work with the Jamaica 4-H Clubs to strengthen agriculture in the schools,” he added.

Introduced into the education system in 2016, the goal of the NSC is to improve the general academic performance, attitude and behaviour of students, which will redound to the positive shaping of the country’s national, social and economic fabric.