The Biden-Harris Administration has released new data showing the number of people in each state who applied for student debt relief or were automatically eligible for relief. These borrowers could be benefitting from the Administration’s program right now were it not for lawsuits brought by elected officials and special interests. In August, President Biden announced his Administration’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year. The Administration’s program aimed to protect borrowers most at risk of delinquency or default as a result of hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic when the payment pause ends.

Kingston, Jamaica - As the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) approaches the opening of entries for its 2023 competitions, Honourable Fayval Williams, M.P., Minister of Education and Youth, is encouraging school administrators to integrate the Performing Arts as part of their teaching strategy.

Miami, FL – Retired Miami Dade College (MDC) professor and alumnus Geoffrey Philp was recently awarded a Silver Musgrave Medal in Literature by the Institute of Jamaica at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. Awarded annually in recognition of excellence in art, science and literature, the Musgrave Medal is named in memory of Sir Anthony Musgrave, the founder of the Institute and the former Governor of Jamaica.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad –President Paula-Mae Weekes has led the tributes following the death of the Guyanese-born Professor Emeritus, Gordon Rohlehr, acknowledged as an authority on West Indian literature and the calypso, who died over the last weekend. He was 80 years old.

Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis – Male students from the Maude Cross Preparatory school were among several Caribbean youth who benefited from an all-male virtual empowerment session in which male Senior Executives of International Game Technology (IGT) and partners shared insights on personal and professional development.

SANTIAGO, Chile –The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is urging regional countries to urgently address the “silent crisis” in education to avert what it describes as “the risk of a lost generation.”

Kingston, Jamaica – With the support of the Government of Canada, Jamaica has gained a new cohort of Polygraph Examiners. Last week, seven Polygraph Examiners successfully graduated from the MOCA Polygraph Examiners' Course, a Canada-supported advanced training course to improve the capacity of law enforcement officers to conduct screening and general vetting services. " This course has been a wonderful example of a positive and successful international training initiative between the Canadian Police College, the law enforcement agencies, and Canada and Jamaica in building the capacity of polygraph examiners in Jamaica and the Caribbean." said Michel Drayton, Inspector of Advanced and Specialized Police Training at the Canadian Police College (CPC) who delivered the keynote address at the graduation ceremony.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has announced the dates for its 2023 regional examinations beginning in January.

St. GEORGE’S, Grenada – Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell Friday underscored the need for both students and teachers to be comfortable learning and unlearning in a rapidly changing global environment given that technology is playing a leading and growing role in their future development.

As the Caribbean gets ready for what is expected to be a bumper tourism season this winter, stakeholders are advised to strengthen efforts to incorporate more young people in the bread-and-butter sector.

LONDON, UK – The London-based Commonwealth Secretariat, Friday announced it had entered into a partnership with global digital skills provider, Simplilearn, providing more than 2,000 free e-learning courses to young learners in the Caribbean, giving them access to crucial digital economy skills.

The Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International called on the young people of the Caribbean to tap into their creative genius, never to settle for mediocrity, and to keep betting on the future of Jamaica and the Caribbean.