EDUCATION sector leaders on Wednesday endorsed the appointment of Information Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon as education minister while expressing hope that she will infuse new energy into the education transformation programme now in train, along with the other demands of the super ministry.

Morris Dixon, whose appointment was announced by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness on Wednesday morning during the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House in Kingston, was catapulted into the post following the appointment of former Education Minister Fayval Williams as finance minister. Williams replaced Dr Nigel Clarke who demitted office on Wednesday to take up a deputy managing director post at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Wednesday, president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) Dr Mark Smith, in congratulating both women, said the JTA “looked forward to working with Morris Dixon to ensure that we can move the system forward”.

“We are, as an association, eager to work with anyone that understands the significance of education transforming the collective fortunes of Jamaicans, and so she comes to the office at a critical time. We have several of the Patterson Report objectives yet to be achieved and we look forward to her role in injecting continued adrenaline into the process in moving it forward,” Smith told the Jamaica Observer.

“I do believe she will be able to work on the successes achieved by her predecessor but, of course, to put more emphasis on ensuring that we are able to improve spending to schools and have an impact on transforming the reality of the present classroom,” he added.

The Education Transformation programme is expected to improve the system in line with the 365 recommendations of the 2021 Professor Orlando Patterson Jamaica Education Transformation Commission Report. The Patterson report recognised seven pillars of transformation within the education sector — namely governance, legislation, leadership and administration; early childhood education; curriculum teaching and teacher training; the tertiary sector, technical and vocational education and training; infrastructure and technology; and financing. The transformation of the country’s education system will cost $280 billion over 20 years and $166 billion in the first seven years of the programme. The recommendations are being implemented over an eight-year period spanning 2023-2031, with the Education Transformation and Oversight Committee (ETOC), monitoring the process.

In the meantime, the JTA president, in commenting on the elevation of the former minister of education said, “She takes up a post that has never been held before by a woman, so we congratulate her on breaking that glass ceiling, giving a lot of hope to young ladies across this island that they can hold any office in the country.

“We have already had a female prime minister, now we have a finance minister that is a lady, and so I think we have a positive takeaway in that regard and a wonderful opportunity for motivation for young ladies,” said Smith.

Wednesday, president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS) Linvern Wright, while noting that he was unfamiliar with Morris Dixon’s involvement in the education sector, said: “I trust that the Government has been deliberate in how they have made the appointment.”

“We are concerned about some things, like the way transformation is going; we don’t think it is on the right path, and we hope one of the things she is going to take on first is to just ensure that there are very clear targets, that the transformation is properly funded, and that we look at those things we can afford to do and not try to do every single thing,” he told the Observer.

Elaborating, he said the JAPSS “is concerned that it seems that the narrative of transformation is being taken over by the ministry itself”.

“I think ETOC needs to stand firm on ensuring that they respond to us in a meaningful way and that there is greater levels of consultation about the objectives that we have for education and that we are realistic about the goals we have and focusing on those things that are possible in the short term,” Wright explained.

“I really do wish her all the best and I really hope that in the interest of education and the children we have the kind of leadership that we need to take education where it ought to go,” he said.

Added Wright: “My essential point is that I want a minister of education where the ministry is not about talk but it is about results, it is about collaboration and about ensuring that the stakeholders have a say and also ensure that we are doing those things that are necessary for education to work. We need a firm hand and a clear direction about where education ought to go, just to ensure that we make the kind of moves that won’t leave education behind even after talk of transformation.”

Meanwhile, president of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) Stewart Jacobs, in congratulating both ministers, said, “The NPTAJ, will miss Minister Williams because of the relationship she has built with us over the last couple years in attending our functions, endorsing our efforts, and supporting us in a lot of ways.”

“She was a minister we could call on almost any time for advice and she would seek advice from us from time to time for matters relating to the school system and parents,” he told the Observer.

In noting that Morris Dixon’s appointment comes at a critical juncture in the school year, with external exams looming, he said, “What is very important is that the transition of the minister does not affect the daily operations of the ministry that will filter down to affect our students as we go along”.

Morris Dixon, who was minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for information, skills, and digital transformation, is a 2004 Fulbright scholar and an alum of The University of the West Indies (UWI) where she completed a Bachelor of Science in Economics (First Class Honours) and a Master of Science in Government (Distinction). She is also a graduate of Josef Korbel School of International Studies where she completed a PhD in International Studies as well as the executive programme of the Harvard Business School. Morris Dixon has served as a senior executive of the Jamaica National Group and managing director of JN General Insurance Limited.

She has executed numerous large-scale strategic projects, including launch of the first Caribbean bank to be authorised in the United Kingdom in 2020 as well as the reorganisation of the Jamaica National Group that created JN Bank and the new group structure in 2017. While on secondment from the JN Group to the Bank of Jamaica, she also led the successful completion of the National Risk Assessment for Jamaica in 2021, which is a key component of Jamaica’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan. She has also served in senior public sector roles in the Office of the Prime Minister and Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro).

Her career began at The UWI where she taught several courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. During her tenure with The UWI she also worked on the Jamaica Economy Project which was the precursor to the successful Caribbean Policy Research Institute. Passionate about education, she served on the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission and the Archdiocese of Kingston Education Commission. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Campion College.