EVER SINCE Michael Lee-Chin's multi-million dollar Canadian company, AIC, acquired National Commercial Bank (NCB), Jamaica has been the beneficiary of a series of exciting initiatives which have positioned the bank at the highest level of corporate citizenship and concern.
The first of these was the announcement that all NCB's profits would be reinvested in Jamaica, a policy that appeared to ruffle the feathers of some other foreign-owned banks which were not prepared to follow suit. The Michael Lee-Chin philosophy was soon transformed into action with the acquisition from FINSAC of the two Mutual Life office towers, thus restoring viability to what had become symbols of the collapse of the financial sector.
Now comes another exciting project a $150 million education package which is to commence in September and will greatly enhance Jamaica's efforts to produce better educated citizens. $15 million a year has been set aside to pay the fees of students taking CXC examinations in Principles of Business and Principles of Accounts, reinforcing the government's policy of paying the CXC examination fees for English, Mathematics, Information Technology and one elective science subject.
Financial constraints will no longer be a reason for secondary school graduates not sitting, and hopefully passing, six CXC subjects. As part of the education package, there will also be $47.5 million for scholarships and grants to be funded by an NCB 'give back' of one per cent of its Keycard credit card profits.
We are particularly interested in yet another component of the scheme the $85 million pledged for literacy programmes and mentoring, the details of which have not yet been worked out with the Ministry of Education. We hope that most of these funds will be used in the early childhood sector of the Jamaican education chain. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link and, given the collapse of the nuclear family unit in our society, early childhood education takes on unparalleled importance if we are to see any improvement in the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary segments of the system, the vision of Mr. Lee-Chin's generosity.
It is at the early childhood level that the most experienced and specially trained teachers are needed and we throw out the suggestion that a substantial part of the $150 million NCB package for education be set aside as 'incentive pay' (some would say 'danger pay') for qualified teachers willing to enter into three-year contracts to teach at the early childhood level.
Michael Lee-Chin has made generous contribution to the arts in Canada, $30 million to the Royal Museum of Ontario, and he is right to concentrate his philanthropic efforts in Jamaica on education the only long-term hope for a future in which NCB will undoubtedly play an important part.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
