 Welcome to NTN Nightly, I am Jesse Leance. This edition's top story is the Ministry of Education rolls out numerous hours to improve student performance in mathematics. Entrepreneurs to access guaranteed loans in a COVID relief program from Bank of St Lucia and the OECS Sustainable Development Movement to usher in a new thinking. The Ministry of Education has implemented a new program in that improving student performance in mathematics. Education officials have presented learning materials to participating schools in the program dubbed Numeracy Hours. Lisa Joseph has more. The Numeracy Hours program is an initiative spearheaded by the delivery unit in the office of the Prime Minister through the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development. Numeracy Hours is a pilot program geared towards forms four and five students in four secondary schools struggling with math concepts. The Numeracy Coach in the Ministry of Education works directly with the identified schools. Mathematics Curriculum Officer Janella Gifford explains the process. Coming into the schools doing observations, lessons of observations, working with the teachers in terms of the delivery of the lessons, also providing assistance to students as well, students who are also struggling in the classroom. Our hope for this program is by 2022 and even this 2021 next year that our students will see a slight improvement in their scores. Generally, we hope to motivate our students to inculcate in them that love for mathematics because really and truly some of them have been struggling. The schools in the pilot phase are Cicero Secondary, Patricia D. James Secondary, Sir Ira Simmons Secondary and Miko Secondary. The students start with a baseline assessment at the beginning of the school year. In December there's also another assessment, a mid-term assessment and at the end of the year there's also an assessment. In addition to those standardized assessments coming from the Ministry's end, of course the assessments that the teachers give within the classrooms are also monitored. The principal of the Cicero Secondary School, Adi Paul, welcomes the intervention program and the resources provided to the school. The resources we have like calculators, numeric sets, algebra tiles, we have graph tiles for you to work with. So all these resources that you can manipulate and see how they operate and function while you learn might excite you. So we are hoping that it does what is intended to do and that the teachers get the reward from it, which is your performance. So we are grateful to the team from Numericy Hours for the donation. It is something worthwhile and something critical for us to improve on. Over at the Sir Ira Simmons Secondary School, Numericy Coach Ian Hippolet lamented the mathematics scores over the last six years and expressed optimism that the Numericy Hours program will positively impact the performance of students. I'm specifically excited about the algebra tiles because we know algebra is difficult, has been difficult for you and posed some difficulty for you in that it is an abstract concept. So what we have decided to do is that, okay, we're going to get some algebra tiles. So you can manipulate the tiles. You can complete the square with the tiles. You can factorize using those tiles. So I'm extremely excited about that resource, a little bit more than the others because I know that it will be beneficial to you. Principal Martina Belizair says with the provision of tools, teachers and students are now better equipped to realize the change. I am specifically happy that we were able to get this projector. As you know, now with the digital platforms that we're using and teachers want to engage students meaningfully in the ICT program, we know without a doubt the projector and the screen will definitely go a long way. We often have situations where students do not have the materials at school and that poses a hindrance to the execution of the lessons and having the manipulatives, having the calculator and all the other resources that you have provided to the school will without a doubt go a long way in assisting our students to do a lot better at mathematics. The presentation was made on September 10th, 2020 from the Government Information Service. Lisa Joseph reports in And meantime, in observance of International Literacy Day on September 8th, the Department of Education moved it to enhance early childhood education to address literacy challenges in the population. Details in this report. According to UNESCO, despite progress made at reducing illiteracy, some 617 million young people have not mastered basic literacy and numeracy skills, yet many of them are in school. It further states that 773 million are illiterate adults. On the occasion of International Literacy Day, Director-General Audrey Azulay invites all those involved in education to, quote, redouble their investments and mobilize all their resources to unleash the potential of each individual in the service of a shared world, unquote. In St. Lucia, the Department of Education reiterates its commitment to improving literacy rates of the population. Chief Education Officer Dr. Fiona Philip Meyer shares the view that literacy challenges faced by adults are the result of problems that might have been resolved in their early childhood years. She laid bare the literacy crisis on Ireland. We note that this is one of our issues, one of our major issues where our students leave secondary school and they aren't literate. They cannot, in some cases, do the most basic of things that they require for employability, that they require for the rest of their lives. So it is to look it in the eye and say, where are the gaps? And in particular, I want to look at early childhood. Infant school, what is happening and what needs to be improved upon so that our children move from early childhood centers into infant school into primary school with the necessary prerequisites. International Literacy Day 2020 draws focus on literacy, teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, highlighting literacy learning in a lifelong learning perspective, targeting adolescents and adults. Director General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, Dr. Didicas Jules, is an advocate for adult literacy. What we need to recognize is that literacy is not something that happens only in schools and therefore the challenge of literacy in the wider society is a very broad challenge that needs to be tackled at many levels. And what is then required is that we look at adult literacy that is something that has not been adequately attended to in many of our societies and the question of post-school learning. So it's not just learning to read within school but after school, the opportunities that adults are being given and the relevance of the material that is being used to promote that. I come from a school of literacy that is very influenced by Paulo Ferreira, a Latin American educator, that believes that we don't just learn to read the word but we learn to read the world. So the process of literacy must involve a multidisciplinary approach that helps you not just develop the mechanics of reading but also the process of critical thinking and of understanding what you read. International Literacy Day is observed annually since 1967 to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society. From the Government Information Service, Rajvaro Lawrence reporting. Still with education, the Department of External Affairs has informed that the education sector will soon benefit from support by the Government of Canada. This is through the funding of laptop computers for primary school teachers. The effort to secure support by education was led by His Excellency Anton Edmonds, St. Lucia's High Commissioner to Canada. The Department of External Affairs worked closely with the Ministry of Education which will be identifying the beneficiaries. The High Commission of Canada to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean will be making over 65,000 Canadian dollars available through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. Owners of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, MSMEs, are now able to access guaranteed loans from Bank of St. Lucia through the assistance of the Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation, ECPCGC. BOSL is the first of two financial institutions within the region to sign with the Corporation in June 2020. Here are the details. In a continuing effort to stimulate the economy and find the negative effects of COVID-19, Bank of St. Lucia has partnered with the Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation to launch a pilot program targeting the island's micro, small and medium-sized business sector. According to the Chief Executive Officer, Carmen Gomez-Trigg, the program will guarantee 75% of loans up to a maximum loan amount of $300,000 to qualifying MSMEs within six participating ECCU countries, which includes Antigua, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kittonnevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia. The scheme is meant to alleviate some of the hardship faced by the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs as they access finance to go their businesses. Although we are a new corporation, the Bank of St. Lucia has taken a leap of faith and become a pioneer in the program. They were the first bank in the currency union to become a participating lender in the scheme. This means that their staff has been trained in our processes and they are now ready to accommodate your inquiries on the guarantee scheme. We knew the challenges that our micro, small, medium enterprises were faced with in terms of meeting that important collateral requirement for loans. And secondly, coming directly out of the COVID-19 scenario where those businesses were constrained in terms of their revenues, we saw it critically important that we provide some form of stimulus to them in terms of the continuity of the operations. So for us, it was both timely and critically important for them that we partner with the corporation in providing that level of assistance. Though the initiative has removed a major hurdle for MSMEs in the loan application process, the acting managing director of Bank of St. Lucia, Medford Francis, says that owners of MSMEs must also meet the basic eligibility requirements for the loan. It's important that we first define what a micro, small, medium enterprise is for the purposes of this intervention. A micro, small, medium enterprise would be an enterprise that generates no more than $2 million in annual sales or revenue. Also for the purposes of this intervention, such enterprises should not employ more than 50 persons. So this is the most important eligibility requirement. Additionally, the program requires MSMEs to be incorporated and operating for at least two to three years with a well-documented track record. Bank of St. Lucia customers who apply and meet the requirements of this guarantee loan will be able to receive access to credits, which can be used to grow and expand their business and the overall economy of St. Lucia. From the Government Information Service, listen to Joseph reporting. The much-anticipated OECS Sustainable Development Movement 2020 Summit that is scheduled for the 23rd and 24th of September 2020 promises to be an exciting space for senior government officials, industry and private sector leaders, global entrepreneurs and civil society to converge and gain unlimited access and practical tools and winning strategies and growth by world-renowned leaders, industry experts and thought leaders. OECS Director-General Dr. Didikus Jules explains that this massive event was originally planned to be physically held in St. Lucia. However, due to the onset of COVID-19, the summit will now be held virtually. It is going to be unlike anything anyone has experienced in the Caribbean before because it is not just a Zoom call with people talking. It is going to be a real simulation of a virtual exhibition hall with rooms, with exhibitions, with showcasing events, with interactions between persons, access to various sessions according to the level of ticket that one has. So it will be very much a virtual simulation of an actual exhibition event. The summit will feature headline presenters including Les Brown, world-renowned motivational speaker, Damon DeJohn, star of the ABC Network program Shark Tank and a serial entrepreneur, Cinedo Eshwero. We have a number of high-level investors who are coming on board to support the investment pitch with Damon John. What we hope to be the legacy of that experience is that we will have an entire grouping of high-level entrepreneurs, people who have set up billion-dollar investment funds who are now going to be supporting the OECS in helping to do that investment. An ongoing business model competition proceeds the OECS Sustainable Development Movement 2020 summit looking to select eight entrepreneurs to make their pitch to Shark Tank's Damon John. Next week's summit is a culmination of a series of activities over the last five months that have sought out-of-the-box solutions to socio-economic challenges as well as a capitalizing on the embedded opportunities from these challenges. For more information on the summit and to register, visit OECSSDM.com. Up next we have Primers Hutchinson with the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. Cut them loose. The anxieties. The worries. Open up to possibilities. Accept the uncertainties and cut them loose. The bitterness. The hopelessness. Plant a seed of hope in your mind. It will grow and flourish in time. Hold on a little longer. Life encourages you to grow. You have so much to offer. Look, tomorrow is waiting to say hello. Don't give up on yourself. Instead, reach out for help. Perhaps it's time to reach out to someone. Call the Health Helpline 203 toll free anytime to speak to a professional. A message from the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Welcome back. We now join Primers Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. Thank you so much, Jesse. Thank you to the Department of Health and Wellness. I would like to inform you of this government, GIS, and the National Television of NTN, of the Nouvelle Aquial and Primers Hutchinson. Everyone who has visited this place will now be able to test and test a polyclinic at the hospital for the disease and other diseases. According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, anyone who has been in the hospital will not be able to travel to this place. They will be able to test at the hospital. This is a special institution for people who have been in the hospital for the disease and other diseases. People who have been in the hospital for the disease and other diseases will now be able to visit the clinic at the hospital for the disease and other diseases. It is available on Monday to Friday from 8pm to 4pm. On Monday, the clinic costs 277 dollars. And it is available at the Victoria Hospital and Owen King Hospital from 2 to 3 a.m. It will now be available to everybody to test at the hospital for the disease and other diseases. It is also available to sanitize and treat other diseases. It is also available to all people who have been in the hospital who are well protected for the safety of you. The person who is in need of more information is the phone number 458-6500. When the school saw the operation for the 9th season, the parents panicked for three times more than the population, the students, than the school for a long time. According to the head of the Education Office, Dr. Fiona Meyer importers of the school Dr. Meyer, who talks about the diversity march that the ministry is taking to manage the school under the corona virus, declares that this is the most important initiative of the new Salah. This is a cooperation for all who are in need of education for the students to protect the school under the new school system. The school is the same, the school is the same But the difference is not that we have to keep our eyes on the quality of the school, we have to keep our eyes on the quality of the school. We have to have the quality of the school because we have a lot, that's not all. When you work with the Health Department, when you're at a meeting place The We want to be able to live here and to keep our body safe. We also want to continue doing this because we want to do it ourselves. It's to keep our mother in the best health. The parties that bought the coconut oil from Noa Magic have found advice to return a piece of bottle to start serving and to open a bottle. The Ministry of Commerce Investments has made a deal I informed the public that since September 8, 2020 the Bureau of Standards has made an announcement to the public that the action is being taken for the business that is going to be sold for a living to find what is going to be thrown on the table for all the bottles that are in Noa Magic coconut oil. That's because the Bureau of Standards has discovered that these 7 bottles of Salad are being fulfilled by the National WEDC that is obliged to pay specifically for the bottle. So, the consumers of the business that I bought for the Salad, they have to serve immediately and you will see real refined coconut oil BN 037, BN 039, BN 040 and Magic Refined coconut oil BN 030, BN 036, BN 037 and BN 0340. The consumers of the business have to serve immediately and you will see real benefits for the public to find what is going to be thrown on the table. The Ministry of Commerce Investments has made more information and clarification that will make contact with the consumers in the next 4, 6, 8, 4, 2, 9, 4, 6, 8, 4, 2, 3, 1. So, the consumers of the business have to serve immediately and you will see real benefits for the public. So, the consumers of the business have to serve immediately and you will see real benefits for the public. Thank you, P.O. Primus. Well, that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7 p.m. with a repeat at 7 a.m. You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or our YouTube channel. I'm Jesse Leon, signing off for now, but do stay tuned for more NTN program.