JFLL/JAMALJamaica Foundation for Life-long Learning

Group 1

About JFLL• Who are We?The JFLL is an agency of the Ministry of Education and is charged with the execution of adult and youth learning and lifelong learning interventions from basic literacy to the secondary level.It is also the lead agency of the GOJ in coordinating with local and international partners in the national drive to accomplish the National and international UNESCO goal of Education for All to support national economic and social development in the thrust towards Jamaica’s Vision 2030 goals.JFLL offers programmes of study ranging from basic literacy and numeracy up to the level of CSEC subjects in a variety of disciplines and courses in computer applications usage.Courses are available at 30 Adult Education Centres (AECs) island wide with computer courses at select locations. Additionally the JFLL is grateful for its partnerships with a wide variety of civic and religious organizations to support courses at 100 volunteer or independent AECs across Jamaica.

JFLL Objectives

• Our MissionTo provide in partnership with other organizations, adult education programmes which will establish a culture of lifelong learning that will empower individuals and contribute to national development• Our Visionis an educated, knowledge-based adult population empowered through lifelong learning opportunities to take responsibility for their lives and contribute positively to the social moral and economic development of the country

HistoryThe JAMAL Foundation was established on November 5, 1974 as the Jamaican Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL). The impetus for its establishment resulted from a study conducted by UNESCO in 1970, which showed that 40-50% of persons 15 years and over were unable to read. It was, therefore, imperative that a national programme be instituted to address the problemwith the following objectives:• To eradicate illiteracy in the shortest time possible.• To improve the literacy skills of the adult population of Jamaica.• To develop human resources and so enable each adult citizen

to participate meaningfully in the social, economic and cultural development of the country

Services Provided• Numeracy• Literacy and• Life skills

Illiteracy was seen as a national priority and the government pledged resources and launched a vigorous attack on countering it. JAMAL utilized a mass literacy approach in a nationwide campaign, which had almost immediate effect. By 1975, there were 48,000 students enrolled in 3,833 classes, and an Adult Literacy Survey showed an illiteracy rate of 32%, down from 50%. JAMAL's programmes were subsequently modeled worldwide, and the organization won many national and international awards.In the ensuing years, both the numbers enrolled and the Foundation's impact have been reduced. JAMAL continued its work and in the mid-1990s, recognizing that basic literacy was insufficient to cope with the rapid technological, social and economic changes taking place, expanded its core curriculum to include Numeracy, Life Skills and Workplace Learning, as it sought to become more relevant and responsive to the needs of the adult population of Jamaica.

From these critical tenets, it was clear that a new organization with a new mandate was required. Accordingly the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning came into being in September 2008with a mandate to build on the successes of JAMAL and deploy a broader suite of interventions at the policy and classroom level as a more all-inclusive adult learning organization, providing both nonformal and adult basic and continuing education, and facilitating lifelong learning.

Since its inception, the JFLL has already made significant inroads with the development of several new programmes and the expansion of existing ones. New programmes include:Life Skills;Training of literacy practitioners;High School Equivalency;Workplace EducationComputer Education.It has also made significant headway in:Curriculum development in adult education;Training of adult education practitioners, andAccreditation of adult education practitioners.With programmes constantly under review or development both singly and in conjunction with a growing number of partners, the JFLL is making positive strides in its mandate “Changing Lives Forever.”

How is it financed?The JFLL gets funding from the Ministry of Education in Jamaica to offer its services to adult learners, communities an organization in support of adult literacy and lifelong learning.

MOEThe Ministry of Education is the governing and regulatory agency for education in Jamaica and provides educational services directly from the pre-primary to secondary level and special education. It is the parent agency of the JFLL.

For more information visit www.moec.gov.jm

What category of students does it cater for?

• JFLL caters to individuals who have exited the formal education system and require a second chance to access adult education to attain certification as a high school graduate, starting at whatever level they are.