Daniel Benjamin, Marketing Officer, hands a computer to Mrs. Beverly Pullen, Principal, of Black Hill All Age School in Portland, in the presence of students last month.

Students at Black Hill All Age School in Portland are the latest to receive assistance from JN General Insurance Company (JNGI), said General Manager Chris Hind.

 The school was one of six, receiving computer equipment to improve their teaching capabilities under the Jamaica Partnership Education (JPE) initiative in June. The computers and projectors distributed over the past month were acquired through contributions from customers of JNGI, in a matching funds agreement with the company.

“We congratulate you on the recent improvement in your performance in both Mathematics and English and for your efforts which have helped you to reach the national average,” Chris Hind, General Manager of JNGI told the students at the June 20 handover. “It is schools such as this one that will make Jamaica a better country, because you are shaping the minds of our youngest citizens.”

Due to become a primary school in the next academic year, Black Hill All Age has a capacity for 185 students, but had 72 enrolled, according to its latest Ministry of Education School Profiles. The school  has traditionally performed below the national average; however, as a result of recent initiatives, there has been noticeable improvement in student achievement.

“This is a very special day for Black Hill All Age,” said Mrs. Beverly Pullen, Principal, of the rural Portland institution. Thanking the donors, the principal declared that she would ensure that the students made the best use of the equipment.

“Just last week, we were at Allman Town Primary where we saw the results being achieved by inner city children in Kingston,” Mr. Hind sated. He added that, “We are happy to provide support to schools that are helping young Jamaicans to imagine a better future than their parents had.”

Allman Town Primary School in Kingston officially had a capacity for 390 students, but had 487 enrolled, as noted in the Ministry data for 2008-2009. Once ranked as one of the 72 worst-performing schools in Jamaica, Allman Town Primary School has now been propelled into the middle ranks of academic achievement.

Saffrey Brown, General Manager of the JNBS Foundation, which manages the JPE programme declared that, “the schools being assisted are among those which are most in need.”

Exchange All Age in Ocho Rios and Christiana Moravian Primary in Manchester also received computer equipment during the same week as Allman Town Primary; and Park Mountain Primary in St. Elizabeth and Maldon Primary in St. James received theirs the following week, along with Black Hill Primary.

Ms. Brown said, “in today’s environment, technological tools are critical to enhance the learning experience in the classroom”

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