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Caribbean News

More than 130,000 Students Across the Caribbean to Benefit from Virtual Learning Platform

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CWCF provides Flow Study Program FREE for ALL students until June 15 in response to COVID-19

#Caribbean – April 2, 2020 — Over 130,000 kindergarten, primary and secondary school students across the Caribbean will benefit from the Flow Study program FREE of charge from now through June 15.  The Cable and Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF) in partnership with Flow and One on One Educational Services Limited joined forces to provide access to the comprehensive virtual education platform, which offers a wide array of educational content enabling students to continue their studies at home during the COVID-19 crisis.  Students in Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos will benefit from this initiative. 

The Flow Study program powered by One on One is available to all students across the Caribbean regardless of their network operator. Inge Smidts, CEO of C&W Communications, operator of the Flow brand, and Chairperson of the CWCF, said, “during these times of crisis we must join forces to ensure that our children, families and communities are supported. 

Given that parents are now faced with the reality of homeschooling their kids, we wanted to find a way to support them despite which network they subscribe to.”  Smidts added, “our primary concern is to ensure that students across the region continue to have access to the education they deserve and that there is minimal disruption to their learning.” 

In Turks and Caicos alone, over 7,000 students will be impacted by this initiative.

“Our students, like those from across the region, will be able to access user-friendly material to support their learning during and possibly beyond the curfew period. This initiative is a clear indication of Flow TCI and the CWCF’s partnership with the Ministry’s in our goal to create an environment where each learner can be successful. I express gratitude to the management and staff of Flow TCI and to the CWCF for coming alongside us during these extraordinary times,” stated Minister of Education, Youth, Culture & Library Services, Hon. Karen Malcolm.

Hon. Malcolm added: “Children in public and private schools will benefit from access to the e-learning platform without having to concern themselves about a costly data package. Students who are sharing devices at home will not be at a disadvantage because they can log on the platform at any time and continue with their learning tasks. The platform also represents a potential goldmine of digital instructional resources for teachers.”

Students age 5 to 18 will have access to the curriculum used in their schools.  Access is available via Flow Study e-Learning services through the Flow Study mobile apps (Android), https://flowstudy.co/registration and Flow EVO – Flow on Demand. 

The ability to continue with classes is even more critical for students who are preparing for CSEC and CAPE. For instruction on how to sign up click here.   Flow Study offers:

  • Over 500 video lessons spanning the CSEC curriculum
  • Access to digital courses for the K – 8 curriculum
  • Question bank and solutions with over 40,000 exam style questions and solutions for 35 subjects
  • 10 years of past paper solutions for over 17 subjects
  • Digital encyclopaedia with over 9,500 digital animations and simulations for four subject areas
  • Virtual science labs with more than 500 digital laboratory simulations for science subjects and skills gap testing for over 30 subjects.
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CEO of One on One, Ricardo Allen, commented on the partnership with the CWCF and Flow stating, “Education is a right and not a privilege.  This is an important and strategic partnership for One on One and we are happy that the CWCF has stepped up once again to provide the funds needed to ensure that our students can continue to have access to their education. This is a platform developed by some of the best Caribbean teachers for Caribbean nationals. Our platform has the capacity to facilitate all students to learn at their own pace, anytime, anywhere and from any device. It is in times like these that we are reminded of the importance of having choices for access to education and the value of e-learning.”

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Bahamas News

Work of NAECOB critical in ensuring high standards in education, says Minister Hanna-Martin

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By KATHRYN CAMPBELLBahamas Information Services
NASSAU, The Bahamas, March 29, 2023 – Over 100 schools in New Providence, public and private, and some 30 plus schools in Freeport have been inspected by The National Accreditation and Equivalency Council (NAECOB) to ensure high quality standards for the delivery of education.
“We will cover every island, every cay in this country to make certain that the facilities that we send our children to are adequate, conducive for learning, safe and sound for education,” said Thelma Grimes, chairperson, NAECOB.
“We are going to head to Cat Island and all the others before June.This is our announced visit. They [schools] have a chance to get things fixed that are not finished and [afterwards] we will have the unannounced.”
The Council informed the media of its progress during a briefing Monday, March 20, 2023 at its headquarters, Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.
Howard Newbold, Inspector and Council Member explained that the council’s seven inspectors are tasked with visiting every site or virtual space operating the following: primary/secondary schools, private/secondary, post-secondary, recognized, training, allied health and business institutions among others.
 Mr. Newbold said inspections include an examination of:
 -Safety and security standards-Human security which begins at the entrance to the property’-Physical security: safety mechanisms including smoke detectors, fire alarms and extinguishers (service date verification, and evacuation plan)-Primary grounds, playground equipment, swing sets and slides-Curriculum-Information management system (student records, staff schedules, registration certificate with NAECOB, business license, photos of the national leaders etc.)
The Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Institute thanked NAECOB for their efforts. She described their work as “critical” and a part of an overall national thrust to ensure that the quality of education in the country is at a high standard.“We’re the Ministry of Education and they’re our schools. We are accountable to NAECOB. They ensure that what is happening on the campuses throughout the nation meets the physical standards and the qualitative standards of education. You would have heard classroom size and teacher/student ratio. We may have challenges, and we do at the Ministry of Education but when these issues are brought to our attention we are obliged and compelled to seek resolution to ensure that the standards are met.
“This is a quality assurance measure for the Ministry itself and our schools to ensure that public and private and public schools meet these standards. We value that. Because the objective of the Ministry is to ensure that we meet the standards so that our young people who enter these institutions are afforded the best opportunity possible.
 “Education is a cultural value; a norm. We submit ourselves to the work of NAECOB to ensuring what happens is done at least to make the acceptable standards of the delivery of education in our schools,” she said.
Cassia Minnis, registration officer, said “registration” certifies that a local educational institution/provider has met the criteria to offer an educational service in The Bahamas as outlined in the Education Act. She said it is mandatory that all educational institutions/provider offering/proposing to offer an educational service in the Bahamas must be registered according to the NAECOB Act and the Education Act.
 She said NAECOB is aware of “small” schools operating within residential homes and warned that this is in contravention of the law.
She encouraged the public to view listings of all registered institutions on the website at naecob.org
NAECOB is responsible for registering and accrediting primary schools, secondary schools, post-secondary schools, and any institution that offers training in The Bahamas.
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PHOTO CAPTIONS

BIS Photos/Mark Ford

Header: Seated at the table, from left: – Lorraine Armbrister, Permanent Secretary; Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin; Dominique McCartney Russell, Acting Director; Cassia Minnis, Registration Officer; Thelma Grimes, Council Chairperson; Howard Newbold, Inspector, Council Member; Shena Williams, Council and Inspector; Dorothy Anderson, Inspector; T. Nicola McKay, Deputy Chairperson;  (seated behind) Willard Barr, Council and Inspector.

1st insert: Thelma Grimes, Council Chairperson

2nd insert: Howard Newbold, Inspector and Council Member

3rd insert: The Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training

4th insert: Cassia Minnis, Registration Officer

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Bahamas News

Bahamas Golden Jubilee Events Announced, Celebrations Across 33 Islands & Cays

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#TheBahamas, March 27, 2023 – As the 50th anniversary of our nation’s independence approaches, Bahamians everywhere are teeming with excitement and expectancy around the year-long celebrations set by The National Independence Secretariat.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister joined H.E Leslia Miller Brice, Chair of The National Independence Secretariat to unveil the Calendar of Events for the 50th Independence celebrations.

The calendar comprises a host of events, initiatives and recommendations for celebrations throughout all 33 islands of The Bahamas.

At this jubilant occasion the PM stated, “Celebrating independence is about acknowledging the greatness around us, the greatness within us, and the greatness ahead of us.

We are Bahamians. That identity is special.”

View the newly released calendar of events here:

https://celebrate-bahamas.com/calendar-of-events/…

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Caribbean News

JAMAICA: 12,362 Seniors Registered Under New Social Pension Programme

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#Kingston, March 28, 2023 – There are currently 12,362 seniors registered under the Government’s new Social Pension Programme.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Karl Samuda, made the disclosure during the sitting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House on March 2, at Gordon House.

The initiative targets all Jamaican citizens 75 years and older who are not currently in receipt of a pension (overseas or local) or any other retirement, old-age or disability benefit or regular income, and are not living in a government institutionalised care facility.

“We are evaluating the manner in which we qualify persons to go on the programme. This is a discussion we will have to have, as some people fall through the cracks simply because they might have a refrigerator, or they might be lucky enough to have a television at home,” Mr. Samuda said.

“The direction in which we are heading, to have those things, does not move you from poverty to prosperity. So, the Government has an obligation to do everything possible to improve their quality of life, and so we will be looking at that,” the Minister added.

Mr. Samuda said between March 2022 and January 2023, the programme disbursed $446 million.

To register for the social pension programme, persons may visit any of the Ministry’s parish offices islandwide.

They will be required to complete a social pension application form, accompanied by their Tax Registration Number (TRN), National Insurance Scheme (NIS) card, and proof of age in the form of a birth certificate or a valid passport.

They should also take along a valid identification (ID), such as a driver’s licence, passport or voter’s ID, proof of bank account and any other document that may be required to process the application, for example, proof of citizenship.

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