With the resumption of face-to-face classes again delayed due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) here in Jamaica, the SMC Group who, over the past eight weeks provided free tutoring through their SMC Teach programme, said they believe the over 300 students who participated are in a much better position to begin the new school year online, come September.

The second round of the SMC Teach programme began on July 5 with the SMC Group hiring some 30 Jamaican teachers to provide free tutoring in Mathematics, English Language and the Sciences.

They have so far provided over 1500 hours of tutoring to high school students in Jamaica, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

According to SMC Group CEO, Maurice Hamilton, both the teachers and students who participated are lauding the real impact the programme has had in getting the students ready for the new academic year.

“When we launched this programme in the summer of 2020, the goal was to have a positive impact on the education of those students whose learning are being affected by the pandemic. With over 1,500 hours of one-on-one tutoring provided this round and teachers being able to work with students to get them back on track, I can safely say we have been making an impact. The general feedback from the teachers is that the work they have been able to do with each student over the past eight weeks have helped significantly in covering the areas they had fallen behind in,” Hamilton said.

“I also want to say a huge thank you to the teachers who displayed the utmost patience and dedication, using every tool at their disposal to make sure their students would be ready for the upcoming school year,” he continued.

Bishop Gibson High School mathematics teacher, Opal Muir-Pottinger, said she believed that the individualised structure of the programme made all the difference for the 29 students she tutored over the summer.

“For some students, I had to push and prod them just to get them to respond. If they were in an online class with another 20 students and they were non-responsive like that, the possibility lies that they would not have done much and would have gotten left behind. Having the one-on-one format where it is just me and the student was very effective for them, especially those students who are not as confident and outspoken,” she explained.

Muir-Pottinger is also imploring parents to become more involved in their children’s education in the new school year as she believes that with more involvement from parents to ensure that their children show up and participate in their classes, the online learning experience will be far better than it was in the previous academic year.

The SMC Group is a leading entertainment procurement agency servicing global business giants like the Coca-Cola Company, Unilever and Cartier in 16 markets across the world.

With the recently launched SMC Caribbean, the SMC Group has brought its global expertise to the region with a singular goal of supporting and developing local business and creative talent for exportation to its global market.