The Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) is an agency of the Ministry of Education that executes adult and youth education programs from basic literacy to secondary level. It aims to achieve national and international education goals to support Jamaica's development. The JFLL offers courses at 30 centers across Jamaica, ranging from basic literacy to exams, and partners with other organizations to support education. Its mission is to provide lifelong learning opportunities through partnerships to empower individuals and benefit national development. The JFLL was established in 1974 to address Jamaica's high illiteracy rate and expand access to education for adults. It has since broadened its curriculum and now aims to support lifelong learning through various programs.

1. Jamaica Foundation for
Life-long Learning
Group 1

2. • Who are We?
The JFLL is an agency of the Ministry of Education and is
charged with the execution of adult and youth learning and
lifelong learning interventions from basic literacy to the
secondary level.
It is also the lead agency of the GOJ in coordinating with local
and international partners in the national drive to accomplish the
National and international UNESCO goal of Education for All to
support national economic and social development in the thrust
towards Jamaica’s Vision 2030 goals.
JFLL offers programmes of study ranging from basic literacy and
numeracy up to the level of CSEC subjects in a variety of
disciplines and courses in computer applications usage.
Courses are available at 30 Adult Education Centres (AECs)
island wide with computer courses at select locations.
Additionally
the JFLL is grateful for its partnerships with a wide variety
of civic and religious organizations to support courses at 100
volunteer or independent AECs across Jamaica.

3. • Our Mission
To provide in partnership with other organizations, adult
education programmes which will establish a culture of
lifelong learning that will empower individuals and
contribute to national development
• Our Vision
is an educated, knowledge-based adult population
empowered through lifelong learning opportunities to take
responsibility for their lives and contribute positively to the
social moral and economic development of the country

4. The JAMAL Foundation was established on November 5, 1974
as the Jamaican Movement for the Advancement of Literacy
(JAMAL). The impetus for its establishment resulted from a study
conducted by UNESCO in 1970, which showed that 40-50% of
persons 15 years and over were unable to read. It was,
therefore, imperative that a national programme be instituted to
address the problem
with the following objectives:
• To eradicate illiteracy in the shortest time possible.
• To improve the literacy skills of the adult population of
Jamaica.
• To develop human resources and so enable each adult citizen
to participate meaningfully in the social, economic and cultural
development of the country
Services Provided
• Numeracy
• Literacy and
• Life skills

5. Illiteracy was seen as a national priority and the government
pledged resources and launched a vigorous attack on
countering it. JAMAL utilized a mass literacy approach in a
nationwide campaign, which had almost immediate effect.
By 1975, there were 48,000 students enrolled in 3,833
classes, and an Adult Literacy Survey showed an illiteracy
rate of 32%, down from 50%. JAMAL's programmes were
subsequently modeled worldwide, and the organization won
many national and international awards.
In the ensuing years, both the numbers enrolled and the
Foundation's impact have been reduced. JAMAL continued
its work and in the mid-1990s, recognizing that basic literacy
was insufficient to cope with the rapid technological, social
and economic changes taking place, expanded its core
curriculum to include Numeracy, Life Skills and Workplace
Learning,
as it sought to become more relevant and responsive

6. From these critical tenets, it was clear that a new
organization with a new mandate was required. Accordingly
the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning came into
being in September 2008with a mandate to build on the
successes of JAMAL and deploy a broader suite of
interventions at the policy and classroom level as a more
all-inclusive adult learning organization, providing both
nonformal and adult basic and continuing education, and
facilitating lifelong learning.

7. Since its inception, the JFLL has already made significant
inroads with the development of several new programmes and
the expansion of existing ones. New programmes include:
Life Skills;
Training of literacy practitioners;
High School Equivalency;
Workplace Education
Computer Education.
It has also made significant headway in:
Curriculum development in adult education;
Training of adult education practitioners, and
Accreditation of adult education practitioners.
With programmes constantly under review or development both
singly and in conjunction
with a growing number of partners, the JFLL is making positive
strides in its mandate
“Changing Lives Forever.”

8. The JFLL gets funding from the Ministry of Education in
Jamaica to offer its services to adult learners, communities
an organization in support of adult literacy and lifelong
learning.
MOE
The Ministry of Education is the governing and regulatory
agency for education in Jamaica and provides educational
services directly from the pre-primary to secondary level
and special education. It is the parent agency of the JFLL.
For more information visit www.moec.gov.jm

9. • JFLL caters to individuals who have exited the formal
education system and require a second chance to access
adult education to attain certification as a high school
graduate, starting at whatever level they are.