LATEST BATCH AT ORIENTATION IN ST ANN
RUNAWAY BAY, St Ann – Aug 28, 2024
The latest batch of Cuban teachers to arrive in Jamaica are going through orientation in St Ann.
The orientation that includes best practices in teaching, familiarization with the Jamaican curriculum and attending to personal concerns of the teachers is taking place at Holiday Haven Hotel, Runaway Bay.
(State Minister Marsha Smith expressing Governmnt’s commitment to the programme)
(Olivine Evans giving details of the orientation)
It opened on Tuesday, August 27, following a welcome session, involving senior education officials, and an address by Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY), Marsha Smith. In welcoming the Cubans, Ms Smith said her own aunt had studied in Cuba. She said the Jamaican Government was committed to the programme of bringing Cuban teachers to the schools here. She gave details about how the teachers would be deployed and said the government had increased the budget to support the programme.
Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica Fermin Quinones Sanchez also addressed the group encouraging them to give their best as others had done before.
The 29 teachers are to be placed in Government educational institutions, most of them in Primary Schools where they will teach Spanish. Two of the teachers will be assigned to primary schools in St Ann.
The latest batch of teachers from Cuba joins more than 40 already here.
The MOEY officer responsible for the programme is Dr Olivine Evans, acting Chief Education officer of the School Improvement Services branch. She told the opening welcome session that the purpose of the orientation was to ensure that the transition of the teachers from the Cuban system “into the Jamaican education system is seamless…”
(Cuban teachers at the welcome ceremony)
She said the sessions over four days would also include how they manage themselves in terms of safety and security and such matters as their remuneration and personal matters such as opening bank accounts and getting their TRN.
Cuba’s ambassador to Jamaica said his country was committed to the bilateral programme which saw Cuban teachers coming to Jamaica and Jamaican students going to Cuba to study.
The Cuban teachers will be deployed for the start of the 2024/25 school year on September 2.
Here are some details from State Minister Marsha Smith. Watch
