Sixteen students from non-traditional high schools across the island were on Wednesday awarded for outstanding performance in the 2015 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)-administered external examinations.

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Grade Nine Diagnostic Test will be implemented during the 2019/2020 academic year.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, is advising school administrators to keep the cost of registration packages between $1,000 and $5,000.

The nation’s youth are being encouraged to include vocational education with their chosen professions for greater employment prospects.

Over the next three years, 45,000 high-school students are expected to benefit annually from an agricultural/agri business-based entrepreneurship programme.