Jamalco has been commended by the Ministry of Education and the Jamaica Library Service (JLS) for its ongoing investment in Jamaica's education system through its continued donation of books to educational institutions islandwide.

The commendations came at a ceremony to mark the 28th anniversary of the Jamalco book programme and the start of the 2009 book drive at the Clarendon-based bauxite/alumina refinery, on Wednesday, April 8.

The book project has been organised by Jamalco since 1981 to assist educational institutions in acquiring supplemental textbooks for their libraries and for classroom use.

Minister of Education Andrew Holness, in a message read by consultant to the ministry, Alphonsus Davis, noted the company's work with the ministry's literacy coordinators in region six to get books supporting the school curriculum to schools in Clarendon and St Catherine, particularly those whose students are reading below acceptable levels.

He urged the company to broaden this targeted approach by working with the ministry to "identify schools across the nation with students who require the most support in terms of literacy".

Director general of the JLS, Patricia Roberts, in her address at the ceremony, noted the company's ongoing support of the JLS as the organisations "are both unwavering in a commitment to reading and have a non-negotiable mandate to confront and effectively deal with the scourge of illiteracy".

The Jamalco book programme receives funding to cover the shipment of books from the Alcoa Foundation, and Jamalco's managing director Jerome Maxwell, who is also a director of the foundation, noted the positive impact of the programme through the years.

"Jamalco not only distributes the books but visits institutions to ensure that the books are being used," he disclosed.

The company's corporate services and government affairs manager, Leo Lambert, said the book programme was one of several sustainable community development strategies being employed by Jamalco in support of education.

"Our scholarship and educational assistance programme supports youth in need in our operating areas; our mentorship programme at Vere Technical assists at-risk students; while our Jamalco in-school programme is designed to reorient young minds about the bauxite/alumina industry," he explained.

The anniversary event also included remarks by retired public and community relations manager for Jamalco, Blossom Laidlaw, who recounted the development of the programme, including the construction of the book room in which the texts are sorted, stamped and stored for distribution.