Cuba is ready to provide extra lecturers to prop up the scarcity of Jamaica’s classroom expertise if the Ministry of Training wants, the socialist nation’s senior envoy in Kingston has stated.
Ambassador Fermin Quinones Sanchez informed the Jamaica Observer in an interview final week, that Cuba stands prepared to help Jamaica if or when the Authorities requires that sort of help.
The native schooling system has been in curler coaster mode following the exit of over an estimated 1,000 lecturers within the present educational yr, most of them for profitable jobs abroad, specifically america, Canada, the UK, and the Center East.
The Ministry of Training has stated that the scenario is underneath management though the truth is, day after day, faculty officers have been reporting late resignations, which have affected the rhythmic functioning of establishments. The ministry additionally stated that a number of lecturers who had earlier than utilized for in depth trip depart, some for as much as eight months, had put that on maintain to be able to cut back the scarcity in faculties.
Now, Quinones Sanchez stated that Cuba, which has over 100 lecturers within the native system, can do rather more to help the Jamaican trigger.
“In fact. There is no such thing as a limitation from Cuba’s facet about any request that may be made by the Jamaican Authorities and the Ministry of Training to proceed supporting the schooling sector,” the diplomat stated. “There are prospects to convey new lecturers from Cuba, not solely lecturers in Spanish — as a result of the good majority of lecturers are instructing Spanish in Jamaican public faculties — however there are prospects for bringing extra lecturers in science, which is the opposite space the place they’re working in Jamaica now.”
Quinones Sanchez stated that his nation, situated north of Jamaica, would additionally be capable to assist enhance Jamaica’s particular wants capability, if required. There have been issues that some faculties on the major and secondary stage typically fall brief in dealing with kids with particular wants, though — by way of infrastructure — some progress has been made within the bodily enchancment of some establishments.
“We talked about someday in the past to the Jamaican Authorities of the likelihood to increase the cooperation of the bilateral settlement to sort out some particular wants of youngsters with sure disabilities that want some sort of help,” the ambassador continued.
“Cuba has been growing particular wants abilities over many, a few years, and now we have now lecturers who’re nicely ready to work with kids with particular wants. Cuba is able to take part in such a programme if it’s the request, in fact, by the Jamaican Authorities.”
In The Bahamas alone, Cuba has over 150 particular wants lecturers working with kids of that common vacationer vacation spot.
“A programme is in place in The Bahamas and it has been having excellent outcomes,” Quinones Sanchez stated. “Now, we’re within the technique of increasing instructional cooperation to completely different areas.”
Final week the schooling ministry stated in a press release that 1,155 lecturers had joined the sector in time for the brand new faculty yr.
Minister Fayval Williams was quoted within the assertion as saying that with the sudden resignation of scores of lecturers and the employment of latest lecturers at brief discover, the ministry needed to “implement new mechanisms to make sure that new lecturers are paid within the month of September.
“Underneath regular circumstances, for a instructor to be paid in a selected month, the employment paperwork should be submitted by the final working day of the earlier month. For instance, to be paid in September, all related employment paperwork should be submitted to the ministry by the final working day within the month of August.
“Nonetheless, provided that most of the new lecturers have been employed this month [September], the ministry prolonged the deadline for submission to September 12 and deployed the accounting employees to work additional time and on weekends to course of the submissions.
“The ministry obtained a complete of 782 new lecturers’ recordsdata on or earlier than the September 12, 2023 deadline. Of this whole, 624 new lecturers’ recordsdata have been processed and 158 new lecturers’ recordsdata have been deemed incomplete as a result of they didn’t meet the required customary to allow fee,” Williams stated.
She stated, too, that 373 new lecturers’ recordsdata have been submitted after the prolonged deadline of September 12.
Cuban is famend for not solely aiding Jamaica within the provision of lecturers, however providing scholarships (primarily medical) to Jamaican college students.
The schooling sector apart, the favored Jamaica/Cuba Eye Care Programme can be one from which tons of of Jamaicans have benefited for the reason that time it was based mostly in Havana, the Cuban capital metropolis, to when it moved to Jamaica with sufficient personnel performing from Nationwide Chest Hospital, and St Joseph’s Hospital.
The results of the COVID-19 pandemic known as a halt to the proceedings in 2021, nevertheless, however plans are nicely superior to return to full throttle after a phased resumption of companies at Kingston Public Hospital in west Kingston.
“The Cuban crew arrived in Jamaica on July 28 and in just one month they, by means of onerous work, ready about 150 Jamaicans for cataract surgical procedure,” Quinones Sanchez stated. “They recognise that the Jamaican inhabitants wants this sort of service, therefore 150 consultations within the first month.
An space at St Joseph’s Hospital will home the principle portion of the resumed actions, however that is nonetheless underneath renovation. It’s anticipated that the programme will totally resume by the beginning November .
“It’s the nice dedication of the Cuban Authorities to proceed supporting Jamaica in health-care issues. I stated one yr in the past that it was a vital goal of the Cuban Authorities to renew the attention care programme in Jamaica as a legacy, as a result of it will be significant for essentially the most susceptible inhabitants of Jamaica … individuals coming from completely different locations everywhere in the nation as a result of they want this sort of high-quality companies supplied by the Cubans, working with the Jamaican Ministry of Well being,” Quinones Sanchez stated.
“That is one thing that makes us very proud. We’ve been performing some surgical procedures at KPH and, hopefully, we will likely be doing different surgical procedures like cataracts at St Joseph’s by November.
“Cuba will likely be supplying the human assets for the programme, specialised tools, and the Jamaicans will likely be allotted the placement for working the programme. There’s a lengthy ready listing that, step-by-step, will likely be cleared up when issues are prepared at St Joseph’s,” Quinones Sanchez stated.