The following are excerpts from the sectoral presentation to Parliament by Education Minister Andrew Holness.

Earlier this year, after analysing the status of the Education Transformation Project, it was decided that projects being developed in the transformation nursery were sufficiently advanced, and that it was now time to mainstream their operations in the ministry, in effect actualising the process of modernisation and transformation. The main projects under the transformation programme are:

The Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC)

Purpose: To raise and regulate the standards of the teaching profession in Jamaica, as well as provide support to achieve excellence in teaching

Status: Cabinet has approved the establishment and preparation of drafting instructions for legal establishment of the agency. The JTC is, however, functioning and is headed by Dr Winsome Gordon, an alumni of the Ministry of Education and a former senior technocrat at UNESCO. The Professional Development Unit and the Secretariat of the Teachers' Services Commission (TSC) has been placed under this new agency.

It has already launched one of its major initiatives for teacher development, the Quality Education Circles (QEC). Sixty-one quality circles islandwide have been defined. A structure for the JTC has been agreed, job description for key staff drafted and functional profiles for three units in the JTC completed. Jobs will be ready for classification by September 2009.

The JTC will continue to function under the powers of the TSC under which it is now incorporated until it has its own legal personality. Registration of teachers has commenced and will be substantially completed by the end of the year. However, licensing of teachers will be delayed until the requisite legislation and empowerment is in place.

The National Education Inspectorate (NEI)

Purpose: To promote a culture of excellence and system of accountability in the education system

Status: The NEI has begun preparatory work with support of international consultants to put business systems in place for the start of inspections early in the 2009 school year. Ten key job descriptions and functional profiles for the core units have been developed and the structure is being finalised. The IT system to support the work of the NEI is being scoped.

It will not be in place to support the 10 inspections which are expected to be completed by December 2009; however a manual system will be employed to do the first ten inspections. The system is, however, expected to be in place by January 2010.

The NEI is to be established as an Executive Agency (EA) and, as such, all the necessary documents have been prepared and are to be packaged for approval of the ministry before submission of application to the Ministry of Finance and Public Service to be established as an EA.

The proposal is to have the submission done before the end of August 2009. It may therefore be possible for the NEI to have its own legal personality by the next financial year. The NEI already has its senior staff in place and is headed by Elaine Foster-Allen, an alumni of the Ministry of Education and renowned educator. Mrs Foster-Allen is on secondment from the Shortwood Teachers' College.