Those were remarks by Nevis’ Minister of Education, the Hon. Troy Liburd, at the annual Back to School Convocation where teachers, staff and other education officials launched the 2025-2026 Academic School Year.

“Own the Journey: Reclaiming Purpose, Restoring Passion, Renewing Practice” was not only the theme of the ceremony but the theme for the new school year.

In addition to praise and worship, prayer, remarks, as well as gift giving, there was a panel discussion that gave reports as well as introduced and expounded on new and ongoing initiatives. These are a few:

To continue the facilitation of professional development for teachers, Early Release Wednesdays will be reintroduced for the primary schools and preschools mainly on the 1^st and 3^rd Wednesday of each month while the structure will remain the same for secondary schools.

An intervention programme to improve students understanding of Mathematics was held with major improvements and will be held again in December.

Finally, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Ms. Zahnela Claxton, introduced the first ever Teaching Excellence Programme (TEP) which will provide “financial support for classroom projects that are innovative and impactful.”