MINISTER OF Education Andrew Holness has urged teachers to immediately tackle the problem of illiteracy.

"The most important thing for Jamaica today is literacy. Until we realise we have an emergency on our hands, we will continue in the same vein, getting the same results over and over again," said Holness during the annual teachers' awards ceremony at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club in St James Saturday evening.

Holness cited the Human Development Index which indicated Jamaica currently trailed several underdeveloped countries such as Cuba, Singapore and the Philippines in literacy. He offered the Ministry of Education's solution to the challenge of illiteracy: literacy tests that will be centrally administered and standardised effectively in order to ensure that every child in Jamaica can read, write and comprehend before they enter high school.

Further, the education minister discouraged teachers from putting primary emphasis on preparing children for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), but instead advocated that they equip students to match children across the globe.

Be innovative

"Our standard of literacy has been so low, we only consider it to be reading and writing," Holness stated. "Modern society requires one to understand the language system, comprehend, be innovative, communicate, participate in social responsibility and be environmentally aware. This is what being literate is today."

The teachers' awards ceremony, the conclusion to Education Week, celebrated its 10th anniversary during which educators were honoured in the categories of service tenure and outstanding achievements.

The ceremony is an initiative in association with the Ministry of Tourism and the East Central St James Education Council.