Church has role to play in education – Morris Dixon
Published:Monday | February 3, 2025 | 4:36 PMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon has declared that the Church has a critical role to play in children’s development into functional members of society, including during their formative school years during which their character must be developed along with their literacy and numeracy skills.
Morris Dixon put her position forward on Sunday while addressing the combined centennial service for Mt Alvernia Preparatory School, Mt Alvernia High School, and Chetwood Primary School, held at the Roman Catholic Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Montego Bay, St James. The service was held under the theme ‘A century of Stars: Illuminating the Future’.
“It is important to be academically excellent, but it is also really important to be a good child of God and to do every single thing that you can to further God’s mission on Earth. It is clear that there is a role for the Church in saving our children and our country,” Morris Dixon told the congregation while referencing her own past Catholic schooling.
“We have to do a much better job at ensuring that we talk about God and introduce God’s teachings in all of our schools, not just the Christian schools. Our country will not get where it needs to get to without God being at the centre of it, and our schools are central to whatever mission it is that we have as a country,” Morris Dixon added.
‘You matter’
The minister gave the example of a recent visit she made to the Holy Trinity High School in Kingston, where a project was launched last Thursday in which the church community will collaborate with other stakeholders for the educational and personal development of students.
“I saw the Church coming together, lots of persons in church, working with the private sector and the Ministry of Education to say to those children, ‘In spite of where you come from, in spite of all the challenges that you have, you matter, and we are going to work together to make sure that your future is brighter’. It speaks volumes to what we believe as Christians,” said Morris Dixon.
A similar call for the Church to collaborate with schools was made in 2015 by The Reverend Ronald Thwaites, who was minister of education at the time, where he described the Church as one of society’s pillars along with the school and the family. He also called for church members to provide mentorship for students and noted the Church’s historical role in operating schools across Jamaica.
Several church denominations, to include the Roman Catholic, Baptist, Moravian, and Anglican churches, have been influential in Jamaica’s education system, dating as far back as the post-slavery era when missionaries established schools in the island.
In the meantime, Morris Dixon urged residents of St James to support the parish’s schools in providing quality education and character development for students.
“The Ministry of Education was tasked with the mission of human-capital development, but we cannot do it alone. We all have a part to play, and when I say all, I mean all of us in here, the entire community. We all have a role to play in giving every student the environment and the opportunity for success,” said Morris Dixon.
“I urge the entire St James community to double and triple your efforts for all the schools in your vicinity. It is only with your support that the sons and daughters of Jamaica can truly receive the amazing school experience and the education that every single child deserves.”