Bartlett announces $3M teacher grant programme in St James East Central
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To mark 30 years of educational support in St James East Central, Member of Parliament Edmund Bartlett has announced $3 million in grants for 30 teachers in the constituency to pursue further studies.
The announcement was made Wednesday during Bartlett’s annual Teachers’ Day luncheon at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, where the veteran parliamentarian said educators would play a central role in Jamaica’s post-Hurricane Melissa recovery and long-term social transformation.
Under the initiative, each selected teacher will receive J$100,000 to pursue a course of specialisation at any tertiary institution in Jamaica.
Bartlett, who described teachers as “the technology that transforms children into nations,” argued that educators remain the backbone of national development.
“There could be no preacher without a teacher. There will be no politician without a teacher. There could be no engineer without a teacher,” he told the gathering.
While acknowledging persistent concerns over salaries and working conditions within the profession, Bartlett said teachers continue to shape Jamaica’s future despite the challenges.
“We know that we can’t pay you as you deserve,” he said. “So what we say to you is that while the money is growing, not growing as fast as it probably should, the blessings are also flowing.”
The tourism minister also reflected on the role teachers played during the COVID-19 pandemic, describing them as among the country’s true first responders.
“We saw how you were the first real first respondent in COVID,” Bartlett said, recalling instances where educators travelled into communities to deliver lessons to students without internet access or electricity.
Drawing parallels between the pandemic and the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Melissa, Bartlett said teachers would again be required to help guide young Jamaicans through a difficult period of rebuilding and national reflection.
“We have to build forward. We have to build better. We have to be more resilient,” he said.
Bartlett also used the platform to raise concerns about violence and deteriorating social behaviour, arguing that the education system would be critical in reshaping attitudes and strengthening social order.
“One of the things we have to reimagine is the culture of our country,” he said, describing some Jamaicans as increasingly “crass and crude, uncaring and disrespectful of others.”
He added that schools across the constituency damaged during Hurricane Melissa would be fully repaired and upgraded.
“All the schools will be fully refurbished and put back in a condition better than it was before,” Bartlett pledged.
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