Education reform hits 43% implementation as ETOC delivers Year 4 first-quarter update

Jamaica’s Transforming Education for National Development (TREND) programme stood at 43% overall implementation at the end of Year 4, Quarter 1, Education Transformation Oversight Committee (ETOC) chairman Dr. Adrienne Stokes told a press conference on July 23, 2026 — up from 37% at the previous quarterly briefing.

Stokes said 207 initiatives are under way and all were on track for the period, with strongest movement in governance, teaching and learning, and TVET. The target is 53% by March 2027, rising toward 60–65% by fiscal year 2027/28, with full delivery aimed for fiscal year 2030/31. Project lead Dr. Venise Morrison-Leon reported 13 recommendations completed this quarter and gave pillar rates: governance 55%, early childhood 47%, teaching and curriculum 26%, tertiary 67%, TVET 50%, technology and infrastructure 38%, and finance 21%.

On governance, Stokes said 90% of new school-board directors appointed in the past 24 months match schools’ strategic needs. A one-year pilot to pay independent directors under government public-board fee standards is due to start in September at National School Learning and Intervention Plan (NSLIP) schools, with performance tracked through meetings, minutes and school outcomes. Morrison-Leon said 63 new board applications arrived this quarter (177 total), seven National Council on Education posts have been filled, the Mona School of Business review of ministry culture is complete and heading to Cabinet, and 33 internal audit posts are now filled.

Consultation on the Jamaica Teaching Council bill is finished and the measure is expected to go to Parliament next, Stokes said. After Hurricane Melissa, about $3.86 billion has gone into rebuilding safer schools, with 32 infrastructure projects finished and 214 in progress; Wi-Fi reaches 82% of public schools and places of safety, and broadband 74%. Operational disbursements total $6.1 billion, with school operational grants up 19.3% on average.

Stokes said Primary Exit Profile proficiency in mathematics and English rose year on year, including stronger mastery from Grade 4 to PEP, but girls still outperform boys by a wide margin — an issue flagged in the Patterson report and a 2022 UNICEF study. State Minister Rhoda Crawford said a committee will examine how boys are taught, noting seven of the top 10 recent PEP students were boys and that Region 3, 4 and 5 schools in Melissa-hit areas showed no PEP decline.

Permanent Secretary Dr. Cassand Troop said boys need different classroom approaches, citing regrouping models at schools including St. Catherine High. National Education Trust executive director Latoya Harris-Garty said donors are guided to rebuild standards, while Crawford pointed to Constituency Development Fund and ministry tuition support for members of parliament.