Ministry of Education reaches 43% completion on JETC reform recommendations

Jamaica has now put into effect 43 per cent of the 365 proposals set out in the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC) report.

Education Transformation Oversight Committee (ETOC) Chairman Dr. Adrian Stokes shared the figures on July 23 during a year-four, quarter-one media briefing at the University of the West Indies Regional Headquarters in St. Andrew.

“This is an increase from the 37 per cent progress reported at our last quarterly briefing. This represents a 600 basis points increase for the reporting period. Now, that’s good progress,” Dr. Stokes said.

“The positive moment for the period was driven mainly by three pillars: governance, teaching and learning and the TVET pillars. Importantly, all initiatives are on track for the period under review. Overall, 207 initiatives are under way in the project,” he said.

Dr. Stokes said the target for the close of the present fiscal year, March 2027, is 53 per cent, rising to 65 per cent by the end of fiscal year 2027/28. Complete delivery of the recommendations is planned for the close of fiscal year 2031.

“The goal is to see the project through to completion. That is very, very important. We shouldn’t allow naysayers or negativity to sap the implementation energy we’re seeing,” Dr. Stokes said.

“There is no bright future for our country, certainly no bright future for our country without a proper functioning education system, and when I speak of a proper functioning education system we’re talking about an education system that works for all, not just pockets of excellence as we have today but a system that is globally competitive, a system that can give Jamaicans a fighting chance on a global level. This is the reason our resolve at ETOC to implement the recommendations remains unshaken,” he said.

Addressing officials from the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Stokes stressed that the recommendations must be rolled out with agility. He said the Committee also aims to keep implementation fatigue from taking hold.

He again pointed to a risk flagged in the Patterson Report — that earlier reform studies were not carried through — and said the Committee has pledged that this cycle will be different. ETOC, he said, will keep partnering with the Ministry until every recommendation is delivered.

“Implementation of the recommendations is a necessary condition to improve the structural foundation of our education system but it is not the only objective here. At the end of the day, results must improve, which is one of the reasons clear KPIs were established at the start of the project to ensure we can successfully drive the train while we are laying the tracks, and importantly, we can measure as we go along,” Dr. Stokes said.

The briefing forms part of the Ministry’s wider push for transparency, accountability and open access to information for all stakeholders.