The Ministry of Education and Youth has announced that it will establish an online job portal to internationally advertise available employment opportunities within the sector.

Portfolio Minister, Fayval Williams, who made the disclosure during the meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives at Gordon House on Wednesday (March 1), said that the portal will be launched in short order.

“[This] will allow our principals, our boards, to put requests on the job board and for all persons who are interested in the sector, including internationally, to be able to see the vacancies that are available in our system,” said Williams.

She was responding to questions posed by Member of Parliament for St. Andrew Western, Anthony Hylton, regarding the loss of experienced teachers within the sector. The Education Minister said that all the strategies that were employed at the beginning of the school year, to help principals and school boards recruit and retain teachers, are still available to them.

“Remember, we offered the option to bring back retired teachers, who were no more than two years out [and] to extend the time for those who were slated to go if they so desired,” she noted. “We still have the option where, if a teacher is on long leave, they can come back as well. So, they would… get paid for their vacation as well as get paid for working. So, we have a lot of options available and they’re still there to help,” she added.

Meanwhile, $143.6 billion has been allocated to the education ministry for fiscal year 2023/24, with some $3.8 billion set aside for the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

Also, an additional $1 billion for textbooks has been allocated in the budget, as well as $1 billion to support the provision of breakfast and cooked lunch for Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) beneficiaries in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools.

“So, we will be able to increase the daily lunch rate from the average $120 to range between $150 to $250, depending on if you are at an infant school versus the secondary school,” Williams added