Nine in ten PEP 2026 students placed in preferred schools as literacy and numeracy scores rise

Roughly nine out of every ten students who sat the 2026 Primary Exit Profile examination have been assigned to a secondary school they selected, the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information announced at a Monday press briefing. Portfolio Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon said 9.5% of placements followed proximity rules and 0.5% were assigned manually, while 76 pupils were left out of the process—mainly children with special needs, students whose families asked not to be placed, and some private-school candidates who took PEP only to benchmark performance.

Choice outcomes were spread across preference ranks: 24% secured their first pick, 18% their second, and 16% their third, bringing the share placed within their top three options close to 60%. Dr. Morris Dixon said performance improved among both primary and preparatory cohorts and credited pupils for persevering through disruption linked to Hurricane Melissa. Gains were recorded across PEP subjects, including new grade-six literacy and numeracy tests introduced to gauge readiness for high school. On comprehension, 79% reached mastery, 17% neared mastery and 4% did not; numeracy mastery rose from 69.9% at grade four to 75% at grade six, with mathematics and language arts also trending upward.

In health governance, the Ministry of Health and Wellness signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday with regional health authorities, professional councils and other public bodies to implement an accountability framework. Regional boards must bring financial statements and parliamentary reports fully current within 12 months, approve certified procurement plans—except at the National Health Fund—and face direct accountability for compliance. Officials pledged public progress updates over the next 12 to 18 months.

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and charge of a suspect in a 30 May arson attack on a compressed natural gas bus valued at about US$200,000 at the Spanish Town Leiba in St. Catherine. Manager Mark Dillon said surveillance showed the man boarding in downtown Kingston, paying cash, remaining on the vehicle after other passengers left, and igniting an object before flames engulfed the bus. Managing Director Owen Ellington warned that exploding gas cylinders in the crowded transport centre could have been catastrophic; investigators are examining a possible link to a 2024 fire involving a Golden Dragon CNG bus at Half Way Tree. Tipsters may contact Crime Stop at 311.

Following Jamaica's participation in last week's Next Steps conference in Accra, Ghana, Minister Olivia Grange, representing Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness, renewed the island's push for reparatory justice alongside delegates from more than 80 countries. She welcomed UN backing from 123 states for a resolution condemning the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. Grange travelled with Ambassador Lincoln Downer and representatives from her ministry, the National Reparations Committee and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission.

Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance director Carrianne Chong urged more self-employed and informal workers to plan retirement formally, noting only about 11% to 12% of private-sector employees belong to private pension plans and fewer than 20% of the workforce contributes to any pension scheme. She said longer life expectancy makes structured savings beyond National Insurance Scheme benefits increasingly important.

Ahead of hurricane season, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority advised farmers to tag livestock, secure animal housing, move stock to higher ground where needed, store feed safely and keep a first-aid kit to treat injuries promptly after storms.