St Elizabeth Technical High School to launch Jamaica's first secondary mechatronics and robotics laboratory

WESTERN BUREAU: Come September, St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) will broaden its technical and vocational programme beyond its long-standing offerings, adding robotics, music production, and television and radio production at the sixth-form level.

Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon disclosed the plans during the school's 2026 graduation ceremony, describing the curriculum shift as one piece of a J$400 million package aimed at overhauling technical education in secondary institutions nationwide.

Addressing the graduates, Morris Dixon said an opening ceremony for a state-of-the-art mechatronics and robotics laboratory is set for September 18, her birthday. "No other high school in Jamaica has this, and this is coming to this institution in September," she told the audience.

Principal Keith Wellington had already signalled the direction of travel, telling the ceremony that robotics would enter the formal syllabus for incoming sixth-formers. "Come September, we will be introducing robotics into the formal curriculum, so students entering sixth form will have robotics as a choice of subject," he said, noting that music production and television and radio production would also be available.

Wellington linked the new subjects to STETHS' 60th anniversary legacy project, saying the school remains committed to pairing traditional academic work with hands-on skills that match what employers expect.

Morris Dixon said the spending reflects the Government's determination to fit technical high schools with up-to-date equipment as labour-market needs shift. "The minister has taken $400 million in funding from HEART, and we're investing it into our technical high schools across this country," she said. "We believe that our students at STETHS, or any of the other technical high schools in Jamaica, must have the best technology at their fingertips."

She noted that many of the island's technical schools have gone without meaningful equipment refreshes for decades. "Many of our technical high schools were equipped many moons ago, in the '60s, and there have not been any real upgrades since that time. We are focused on our technical high schools, but we're not focused on the past anymore; we're looking at the future," she said.

The minister urged graduates not to treat technical and vocational pathways as lesser options, arguing that national economic progress rests on a broad base of skilled workers. "Never allow anyone to convince you that practical or technical education is inferior. Jamaica needs skilled builders, we need electricians, we need welders, we need plumbers, we need mechanics, we need technicians, we need engineers, we need agricultural specialists, we need hospitality professionals and digital creators," she said.

Morris Dixon said the Ministry of Education is building out technical and vocational training through more apprenticeships, tighter industry ties, entrepreneurship support, and programmes in emerging areas including mechatronics, robotics, electronics, information and communications technology, data protection, and digital animation.

She also pointed to expanded backing from HEART/NSTA Trust, covering free tuition for courses up to Level Five, grants of up to $50,000 for trade tools, $100,000 for business start-ups, and as much as $300,000 for graduates in high-tech fields such as mechatronics and robotics.

Looking further ahead, Morris Dixon said the Government is rolling out a contractor incubator programme through HEART and the Development Bank of Jamaica to prepare a new wave of contractors for the country's growing infrastructure agenda.

Closing her remarks, she praised the institution's outlook. "STETHS is not a small-thinking place. As a graduate of this institution, wherever in the world you go, you stand with your head tall because you came to this institution," she said.