The Schools’ Exhibit at BMEX has once again gained the approval of Education Minister, Ronald Jones, who is satisfied with the level of work put in by students and teachers across the island.
“Every year this display gets a little more sophisticated. I’ve seen a lot of scientific effort, particularly this year. There are several very innovative pieces I’ve seen to help enhance agriculture to look at climatic issues . . . some of it is highly interactive,” he said following the tour on Monday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
Commending the Media Resource Department for yet another successful activity, Mr. Jones, who is also responsible for Science, Technology and Innovation, added that he was “extremely impressed” with the creativity of the young people who displayed their items at BMEX.
While noting that some might say that there was not enough pushing of science, technology and innovation, the Education Minister said what he had seen at BMEX reflected differently.
He commended St. Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary for their solar energy project used to charge phones; The Lodge School for its combined chair/step ladder; and Daryll Jordan Secondary for its Mist project that aids with the growing of plants. Of the latter, the Education Minister said the concept could be adopted by those in agriculture for useful production of plants or vegetables.
Emphasising that the school in St. Lucy was known for good work, he reminded the media that the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications programme was started at that institution. Christ Church Foundation School and Christ Church Girls also came in for praise.
Mr. Jones assured those gathered that through the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council and the Ministry of Labour, there would soon be a strategic framework to address the efforts at schools and within the wider community.
Acknowledging that for a long time what was happening in schools was not connected to the entrepreneurial world, he said: “Last year, we saw some good work being exhibited, so what we have to do now is have NCST mobilised to see how they can help in the further exploitation of the talent we have here.”
The Education Minister said it would take the actions of both the private sector and Government to create the kind of incentives necessary to move the students from this experimental stage to actual production.
