The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will begin a phased implementation of the National Standards Curriculum at the start of the new academic year.
State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green, said the new curriculum, to be implemented over two years, focuses on a new methodology that gives priority to the development of higher order thinking skills.
The State Minister said it also focuses on greater accountability and more student-centred engagement.
Mr. Green was making his contribution to the 2016/17 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 8.
“This new curriculum will operate…based on the significant body of work that has taught us that in order for our education system to be effective, we have to cater to the multiple intelligences of our children and their diverse needs to fully maximise their capabilities,” he explained.
This, the Minister said, is the basis for the development of the Alternative Pathways to Secondary Education (APSE). This includes the introduction of a maximum seven-year period (Grades 7-13) of instruction for students on alternative learning pathways.
Mr. Green said learning pathways will allow for an inclusive approach in which instruction is centred on tailored curricula, enabling each learner to perform to his fullest potential based on aptitude, interest and ability.
“Alternative Pathways represents a new approach to secondary education. Secondary education in Jamaica is being reframed and repositioned as customised, diverse, relevant, equitable, outcomes-based and inclusive,” he said.
The State Minister added that this programme will serve to reduce the level of detachment for students who complete five years of secondary education but are unable to matriculate into further studies.
The initiative is to be implemented under the framework of the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), being offered in 53 secondary-level institutions. It will be rolled out in an additional 10 schools in September.
It will also be offered in HEART institutions, the National Youth Service centres, through the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning, as well as other community colleges, teachers colleges and private training institutions.
A central database is to be established through which all enrolled students will apply.
CAP is being funded this year by an allocation of $800 million, a $190 million increase from last year.
Source: Jamaica Information Service