Over 500 students from 29 high schools across the island to benefit
December 15, 2020
The JPS Foundation has donated over $2M to cover exam fees for students sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Industrial Technology (Electrical) Exams in 2021. The grant provides for 525 students from 29 high schools across the island. This brings to 2,324 the number of high school students benefitting from the JPS Foundation’s CSEC sponsorship since 2016. The total contribution to the programme over the period has been $8M. The cheque was presented last week, to the Overseas Examinations Commission (OEC), which falls under the Ministry of Education.
Addressing a small gathering at the handover ceremony, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, the Honourable Fayval Williams, thanked the JPS Foundation for their continued corporate outreach and expressed the importance of integrating skills-based learning in the Jamaican education system. “Given that TVET is playing such an important role in providing the skill sets required by enterprises within our economies, it is an imperative that the expansion of technical and vocational education be a priority objective of all educational strategies,” said Minister Williams.
JPS Foundation Deputy Chairman, Ramsay McDonald, speaking at the event, commended students and teachers for their hard work. “The JPS Foundation has a long history of partnering with the Ministry of Education. I want to congratulate the students here and your teachers. You, along with over 500 other students across Jamaica, have put in the hard work to qualify for this year’s exam fee grant. And you did this, despite the effects of the COVID pandemic.”
JPS President and CEO, Michel Gantois, noted that “Education is all encompassing and for our students to be successful, support is critical. Students also need to have the skills and passion to change the world,” he added. “JPS is happy to be contributing to future leaders who will hopefully return to JPS, or to any other [local] sector.” Ultimately, he pointed out, Jamaica must win.
JPS Foundation says the outreach was borne out of its objective to support the Government’s efforts to have each student graduate from high school with a skills based subject, as well as to foster the development of future energy experts.
