OUTGOING British High Commissioner to Jamaica Judith Slater is pleased that her tenure has been marked by a strengthened commitment by her Government to build education programmes across the island — from grass-roots literacy and behaviour programmes to an increase in the number of Chevening scholarships for postgraduate study in Britain.

“I talked about the literacy programme, but there’s also some stuff we’re doing on behaviours and helping kids that have challenges with their behaviours…[and] one of the things we’re looking at is literacy, and trying to give kids who would otherwise probably drop out of school and join a gang the tools to actually go and make choices…about their careers, and go off and do something other than go to a life of crime,” said Slater during an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

She pointed to one of the highlights of these outreach efforts, the Ambassador for a Day initiative, which was used to mark International Women’s Day.

Under the initiative, students from Denham Town High and Trench Town High were selected for their academic promise and leadership qualities, and invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a special mentoring experience.

“The nicest thing about that was that they were welcomed with absolutely open arms by Foreign Minister [Kamina] Johnson Smith at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and she literally took them in and she called them ambassador and she gave them about an hour of her time. I think that, for them, that was probably the most special aspect of that day,” Slater recalled.

While such projects focus on giving young people a vision for their future, the UK’s flagship investment in Jamaican talent is the Chevening Scholarship programme which she said has grown over the years, noting that over more than 300 Jamaicans have benefited to date.

“We’ve managed to, on my watch, grow the number of Chevening scholarships, so this year, we’re going to announce later this week, actually, but we’re going to be sending 17 Jamaicans on Chevening Scholarship,”Slater said proudly.

The Chevening Scholarship, which is funded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), covers all expenses for a one-year master’s degree at any UK university and is designed to develop global leaders by providing them with academic, professional, and networking opportunities.

Slater credited local partners, including the Jamaica National Group (JN), for co-funding one of this year’s awards, but admitted that private sector participation remains limited.

“That is one thing I’m slightly disappointed about. We had a go at getting more private sector involvement in our Chevening scholarship programme, but I think we need to return to the charge because I think we tried it at a time when the economy was coming out of COVID, you know, in the earlier part of the time that I was here, so companies didn’t have a lot of spare cash, but I think we should have another go,” said Slater.

Beyond scholarships and school outreach, Slater pointed to other education-related collaborations that have helped strengthen Jamaica’s capacity for learning and skills development.

One such example is the partnership between the British Library and the National Library of Jamaica, which has focused on the preservation and digitisation of records.

The project, she said, not only protects invaluable aspects of the island’s cultural heritage but also makes them more accessible to future generations of students and the general public.

Slater noted that the high commission has also worked with the Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC) and the Caribbean School of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) on projects and workshops designed to strengthen investigative journalism skills across the region.

“I think the media institute at The UWI (University of the West Indies) is really good in the Caribbean. So we liked supporting that. We have done different projects with them. I know we’ve done one on investigative journalism and I’ve been along to some of these courses and I’m always impressed by the number of women.

“It seems to be predominantly women… and it’s also an example of how a small amount of money can go a really long way with a thing like that, which without our support might not happen, but it costs very little,” Slater said.

She also highlighted that judicial training has been a key focus as British judges have been visiting Jamaica to mentor and train emerging members of the judiciary, with backing from Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.

Slater explained that this initiative helps to strengthen the justice system while providing a vital foundation for safe and stable learning environment.