Honour s 144 Educators With Golden Torch Award

The Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), on Wednesday (July 1), honoured 144 educators, each with at least 35 years of service, with its prestigious Golden Torch Award. 

Speaking during the awards ceremony at AC Hotel by Marriott Kingston, Acting Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Terry Ann Thomas Gayle, commended the recipients for their exceptional dedication to Jamaica’s education system.  

She thanked the educators for remaining steadfast through periods of technological disruption, economic challenges, the global COVID-19 pandemic, and, most recently, Hurricane Melissa. 

“The Ministry recognises that long service is not merely a passage of time. It is an accumulation of wisdom, the refinement of craft, the deepening of relationships with students and communities, and the quiet persistence of professionals who have chosen to remain in the classroom when other opportunities may have beckoned,” she said.  

Mrs. Thomas Gayle described the honourees as custodians of their schools’ institutional knowledge, mentors to younger teachers, and standard-bearers of a profession that often “ demands more than it receives”. 

“The Ministry salutes you. Jamaica owes you a debt of gratitude that no ceremony can fully repay,” she said.  

Meanwhile, JTA President-Elect, La Sonja Harrison, delivering remarks on behalf of President, Mark Malabver, lauded the educators for their decades of dedicated service. 

“Collectively, you have amassed 5,240 years of service to this nation. As you receive this award, know that this is what man can give you… but it is only God who truly gives you the reward you’re so deserving of,” she said.  

Mrs. Harrison noted that their journeys have served, and continue to serve, as beacons of hope within their families, schools, and communities. 

“You are a source of inspiration for teachers for generations to come. It is on your shoulders that we stand and continue to build. Journey on good soldiers, beacons of light, as you continue to impart, nurture, shape, scaffold the building of knowledge and unearthing of talents in Jamaica’s greatest asset – our human capital,” she said.