Jamaica

by Paul Bacsich for Re.ViCa. Updated by James Kay of Sero for VISCED

For entities in Jamaica see Category:Jamaica

Partners situated in Jamaica

None.

Jamaica in a nutshell

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica)

Source : http://www.cia.gov

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, amounting to 11,100 km2. It is the third largest island and the fourth largest country in the Caribbean.

Jamaica is about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, on which the Dominican Republic is also located.

Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning the Land of Wood and Water, or the Land of Springs. Formerly a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it later became the British Crown colony of Jamaica.

Jamaica has a population of 2.8 million - it is the third most populous anglophone country in North America, after the United States and Canada.

Its capital is Kingston.

It remains in the Commonwealth of Nations with Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State.

Jamaica is divided into 14 parishes. The parishes are grouped into three historic counties (Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey) - but these have no administrative relevance.

Jamaica's population mainly consists of people of African descent. Multiracial Jamaicans make up much of the population also. The Indian and Chinese population is together around 160,000. Some 20,000 Latin Americans and 7000 US Americans also reside in Jamaica.

The official language of Jamaica is English. In informal discourse, Jamaicans primarily speak an English-African Creole language known as Jamaican Patois, which has become known widely through the spread of Reggae music.

Christians make up somewhat over half of the population, approximately 59% percent - the remainder are spread among several religions.

Jamaica is a mixed economy with both state enterprises and private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading earners of foreign exchange. An estimated 1.3 million foreign tourists visit Jamaica every year.

Jamaica education policy

(the following sections are sourced mainly from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Jamaica but with further research on specific institutions)

Education follows the UK model and in particular that of England. Education is free from early childhood to secondary levels.

Children are taught Spanish in school from primary school: about 40-45% of Jamaicans know some form of Spanish

Education at all levels is looked after by the Ministry of Education - see http://www.moec.gov.jm/about.shtml

Schools in Jamaica

Presently the following categories of schools exist:

• Early childhood – Basic, Infant and privately operated pre-school. Age cohort – 1-5 years.
• Primary – Publicly and privately owned (privately owned being called Preparatory Schools). Ages 5–12 years.
• Secondary – Publicly and privately owned. Ages 12–18 years. The high schools in Jamaica may be either single-sex or co-educational institutions, and many schools follow the traditional English grammar school model used throughout the British West Indies.

For further details see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Jamaica

Higher education in Jamaica

There are Community Colleges, Teachers Training Colleges, Vocational Training Centres, Community Colleges and Universities (publicly and privately owned).

Universities are typically the only degree-granting institutions; however, many colleges have been creating joint programs with universities, and thus are able to offer some students more than a college diploma.

For a fullish but incomplete list of universities and colleges in Jamaica see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_and_colleges_in_Jamaica - some of these are described in more detail below.

Universities in Jamaica

Generally, A-Level or CAPE examinations are not required to enter the nation's Universities. One may also qualify after having earned a 3-year diploma from an accredited post-secondary college. (The word "college" usually denotes institutions which do not grant at least a bachelor's degree.)

There are four local tertiary institutions called universities:

1. University of the West Indies (Mona Campus)
2. University of Technology, Jamaica - http://www.utech.edu.jm - formerly the College of Art Science and Technology (CAST)
3. Northern Caribbean University, formerly West Indies College, a leading Seventh-day Adventist, English-speaking university - http://www.ncu.edu.jm (private non-profit)
4. International University of the Caribbean - but there is no information on its web site

A few universities in the United States have extension programmes in various parts of Jamaica. Most of the students who enroll in these part-time programmes are working professionals who want to continue their education without having to relocate closer to the nation's Universities.

University of Technology, Jamaica

There is no evidence of distance learning or online or e-learning in the course prospectus (http://www.utech.edu.jm/ProsStudents/ProgSum_Ja.pdf) but see the entry on co-operative education (Work-Based Learning in the UK sense) - http://www.utech.edu.jm/Academic/OCE/index_new.htm

Northern Caribbean University

Northern Caribbean University is a tertiary level academic facility in Mandeville, Manchester (west-central Jamaica). It is run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Founded in 1907 as the West Indian Training School (in Bog Walk, St Catherine), it is the oldest private tertiary institution in Jamaica. The institution offers courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in six colleges and schools: Arts and General Studies, Natural and Applied Sciences, Graduate Education and Leadership, Business and Hospitality Management, Teacher Education and Behavioural Science and Religion and Theology.

Its web site is at http://www.ncu.edu.jm

There is a locally-developed VLE called AEorion Learning Management System (AEorion LMS) which is described as "a complete, secure, web-based training and e-learning solution from Northern Caribbean University that employs a simple and intuitive user interface" (source:http://aeorionde.ncu.edu.jm/corp/about.aspx).

There is a section on "Online and Distance Courses" but no courses listed - perhaps they will be offered soon, developed from the correspondence courses (http://www.ncu.edu.jm/academics/c-courses.aspx). The site also offers a number of podcasts (http://news.ncu.edu.jm/Podcasts.aspx).

Polytechnics in Jamaica

There is the:

• University College of The Caribbean - http://www.uccjm.com/

Additionally, there are several teacher training colleges including

• MICO University College, formerly MICO Teachers' College, founded in 1836 - http://www.themicouniversitycollege.edu.jm
• Shortwood Teachers' College - http://www.stcoll.edu.jm

MICO University College

This is now running Moodle for various online courses including teacher training - http://thelvws1.mine.nu/moodle2/course/category.php?id=5

Colleges in Jamaica

There are also some Community Colleges including:

• Montego Bay Community College - http://www.mbcc.edu.jm (site under construction as at early February 2010)

Finally, there is also an interesting lifelong learning site http://www.lifelonglearningja.org

Administration and finance

There are opportunities for those who cannot afford further education in the vocational arena through the Human Employment and Resource Training-National Training Agency (HEART Trust-NTA) programme and through an extensive scholarship network for the various universities.

Quality assurance

No information as yet.

Information society

Information society strategy

The Mission of the Ministry of Education is

To provide a system which secures quality education and training for all persons in Jamaica and achieves effective integration of educational and cultural resources in order to optimise individual and national development.

It has seven objectives, of which the 7th (the last) is about ICT:

1. To devise and support initiatives striving towards literacy for all in order to extend personal opportunities and contribute to national development;
2. To secure teaching and learning opportunities that will optimize access, equity and relevance throughout the education system;
3. To support student achievement and improve institutional performance in order to ensure that national targets are met;
4. To maximize opportunities throughout the Ministry’s purview that promote cultural development, awareness and self-esteem for individuals, communities and the nation as a whole;
5. To devise and implement systems of accountability and performance management in order to improve performance and win public confidence and trust;
6. To optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of staff in all aspects of the service in order to ensure continuous improvement in performance;
7. To enhance student learning by the greater use of information and communication technology as preparation for life in the national and global communities.

It has an Educational Technology Resource Centre which merits more investigation - http://www.moec.gov.jm/overview_of_the_education_technology-resource_centre.shtml

Virtual initiatives

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

None so far found except of course for the University of the West Indies.

Interesting Programmes

Possibly MICO University College.

At the top level of analysis the use of e-learning at the other university-level tertiary institutions is at an early stage.

There is not enough information yet on community colleges to make a judgement.

In contrast, there does seem significant activity at the schools level.

Re.ViCa Case-study

None.

Virtual Learning in schools

• KBC Learning Centre based in Jamaica.

• Cyberschool Jamaica

• E-Learning Jamaica Company Limited

Lessons learnt

It might have been expected that Jamaica would have several Programmes but energies appear to have been taken up by the developments at the University of the West Indies.

References

1. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica
2. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Jamaica
3. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_and_colleges_in_Jamaica
4. Ministry of Education, http://www.moec.gov.jm/about.shtml

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For OER policies and projects in Jamaica see Jamaica/OER

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