Jamaica presses CXC on SBA reforms as school grants rise and JPS talks intensify

Senior Jamaican education stakeholders met Friday, July 17, 2026, with Caribbean Examinations Council officials over planned school-based assessment reforms, as the government also outlined larger operational grants for public schools, reinforced Jamaica Public Service licence negotiations, and projected completion of the new Spanish Town Hospital by 2027.

Stakeholders sought the CXC talks because of concerns about the proposals. Under the plan, traditional SBAs in non-practical subjects such as mathematics, English and Caribbean history would give way to a supervised paper 032. Students would sit that paper under exam conditions after receiving the topic about a month ahead. Practical and creative subjects, including agricultural science, visual arts and music, would keep traditional SBAs. CXC says moderation will be tightened. CAPE students are due to face the new system in 2027; CSEC candidates may choose the existing SBA or paper 032 that year before the format becomes compulsory in 2028.

Public schools will receive an extra $757.5 million for the 2026–2027 academic year under a new operational grant model, Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon said at Wednesday’s post-Cabinet briefing. She said 25 per cent should go to administration, 20 per cent to repair and maintenance, 30 per cent to teaching and learning, 15 per cent to STEM and TVET, and 10 per cent to student welfare. Schools already got a first tranche—30 per cent in June, with 15 per cent due in September and 20 per cent in December. Morris Dixon said the framework lifts average funding by about 55 per cent, with primary and special-education schools seeing the largest gains. Annual grants are to range from roughly $1 million to $4.8 million, and infant and primary minimums rise to $1 million.

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz told the House of Representatives that Cabinet approval is being sought for a second phase of technical help, including more financial advisers, as licence talks with JPS continue. He noted majority shareholders East-West and Marubeni—from Korea and Japan—and said an earlier technical-assistance phase had ended. The government formally told JPS in July 2025 it would not renew the licence on existing terms and may acquire the licensed business when it expires. Vaz said other parties have expressed interest, that negotiations with JPS continue in good faith, and that a backup plan is needed. He argued the present licence has helped leave Jamaica among the region’s highest electricity prices.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said the $5.5-billion Spanish Town Hospital redevelopment should finish in 2027 as a six-storey facility of more than 17,000 square metres, adding urology, oncology, ophthalmology and psychiatry, electronic patient records, more operating theatres, and beds rising from 470 to 600. He spoke at the launch of a family caregiver programme at the hospital.

In business, Finance Minister Fayval Williams, billionaire Michael Lee-Chin and coffee farmers from Hall’s Delight, St Andrew, were among about 700 guests at the Small Business Association of Jamaica’s Growth and Resilience Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. The Development Bank of Jamaica signed an MOU with the SBJ on capital access; the Jamaica Stock Exchange and Jamaica Business Development Corporation also pledged support. SBJ president Garnet Reid said the event had outgrown the Pegasus and aims for 1,000 attendees next year.

The Ministry of Finance reported tax collections below target for April–May of the fiscal year. Income and profit taxes brought in $59 billion against a $77.8 billion budget—about 24 per cent short—while company taxes, special consumption tax and several tourism-related levies also missed projections.

Regionally, Vienna-based healthcare infrastructure firm VMED said it would seek international arbitration against Guyana over unpaid costs linked to the Guyana Paediatric and Maternal Hospital and the New Amsterdam Hospital campus. Counsel Nigel Hughes said payments stopped more than a year ago despite certified work, with contractual claims cited in the tens of millions of euros and the last payment received in May 2025.

In sport, France and England meet for third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on July 18 after semifinal losses; Spain and Argentina contest the final. Jamaica Football Federation president Michael Ricketts backed FIFA’s idea of a 64-team World Cup, saying: "Once the numbers increase, I'm going to support it because it gives us a greater chance."