The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information has launched a series of ambitious initiatives aimed at transforming Jamaica’s education system, with artificial intelligence (AI) playing a central role in the ongoing overhaul.
Portfolio Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, revealed that a pilot program is already underway in several schools where AI is being used to assist teachers with marking papers. “We are actually piloting this with some of our schools to see how it works, and the interesting thing is that we at the Ministry can actually see the results real time, so as it marks we can see how the schools are doing,” she said during her recent contribution to the Appropriation Bill in the Senate. “That’s really one example of how we are already using AI.”
According to the Minister, technology is being integrated “as much as possible” to strengthen the education sector. She emphasized that Jamaica must keep pace with global advancements, particularly in AI, which is reshaping the workforce.
“The global workforce is changing rapidly and AI is at the forefront of that change and Jamaica cannot be left behind,” she said. “That is why we have had our National Artificial Intelligence Taskforce set up, and it gave us a report and our Ministry of Education is one of the first in the world to have an AI policy in education; that is a big deal. What that says is that we are not afraid of the new technology; we are using it and we are encouraging it.”
The Ministry is also introducing a Prompt Engineering Course through the HEART/NSTA Trust. “That’s like one of the most important courses in AI going forward. This course will train students and public servants in AI tools to give our workforce an opportunity to equip itself to be able to use AI and leverage AI and to work smarter,” she said.
Senator Morris Dixon also announced that Jamaica’s first state-of-the-art AI lab will launch this year in partnership with the Amber Group. “Many countries are just dreaming of that. We are partnering with the Amber Group, where developers, researchers and students can create Jamaican-led AI solutions,” she noted.
In addition, the Jamaica Learning Assistant (JLA) Programme will soon be introduced. The JLA platform will tailor lessons to individual students’ learning styles, offering support through AI-generated tools such as animated story-based visuals, interactive Q&A sessions, quizzes, and even poetic or humorous explanations.
New STEM schools to be built in Jamaica
Beyond AI, the government is expanding its investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Six new STEM schools will be built across the country, each outfitted with cutting-edge technology. “We are not building six STEM schools for just a few elite people, it is very important to note that STEM is a part of our national standard curriculum; we have infused STEM in every single way that we teach,” the Minister said.
She also highlighted ongoing support for STEM labs in Jamaica’s 14 technical high schools. “In our STEM education, we have given laptops, a lot of interactive panels… [Approximately] 700 of our schools have internet and we are now rolling out Wi-Fi so that the students can get access to the internet and not just the office,” she explained.
Efforts to digitize and streamline education administration will continue with the rollout of the Education Management Information System (EMIS).
The Minister also reaffirmed the government’s focus on improving literacy and numeracy, calling it a “very important” concern. “We are using more teaching hours, more hands-on interventions and more technologies to give our students that extra helping hand,” she said.
Targeted support, such as extended learning hours and personalized intervention,s are already being implemented in 56 high schools and 189 primary schools across the island.
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