KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Education and Youth Ministry says it has been steadily engineering changes in the system to ensure greater levels of equity, improved processes and access, to deliver high-quality education for all students.

Portfolio Minister, Fayval Williams, has reported that significant strides have been made to improve the virtual teaching environment which, she noted, is among the critical areas targeted for strengthening.

According to a release, Williams, who was addressing the virtual Jamaica Teaching Council’s (JTC) Mentoring and Induction of Beginning Teachers for 2022 closing ceremony, on Monday, January 31, said these changes reflect the “maturing of the education system.”

“The classroom you will see when you return as educators is one in which students and teachers have more learning devices than at any other time in our history and the digital divide, though not closed as yet, has been greatly narrowed,” she said.

She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the restructuring of the education system, moving most teaching and learning activities to the online space.

“I ensure you, inductees, that the education system in Jamaica is responsive to the changing times and has been strengthened to absorb shocks and has been provided with resources to become more agile, targeted and responsive to individual learning needs,” the Minister added.

Williams commended the approximately 1,000 beginning-teacher cohort who are entering the profession at a “critical and consequential moment”.

“We at the Ministry are excited to welcome you to the profession and we have high expectations of you,” she said.

Senior Director, Teacher Development Services, JTC, Allison Solomon, said the Council has adjusted its programmes to prepare new educators for the new teaching landscape.

“This cohort represents how the system has pivoted in teacher preparation with increased reliance on technology, shifts in operating norms and health protocols and other pandemic-related changes. By supporting teachers, we support students, their learning and the sustenance of a robust education system,” Solomon said.

In addition to the rigorous programme of study provided by 13 teacher-training institutions and departments islandwide, the new teachers also accessed an additional 20 hours of intensive job-readiness training delivered by the JTC.

The programme provides a full year of professional support for new teachers to develop the requisite skills and knowledge that will enable them to achieve success as experienced teachers in the education system.

The ceremony was held under the theme ‘Transforming Education in the Digital Space’.