No Tuition, Nine Teachers and One Crowded Room: A Kingston Church Turned Its Space Into a Free CXC Academy

• Mountain View New Testament Church of God Academy has offered free CSEC classes since 2016
• More than 880 students have enrolled and 349 have sat exams, most of them adults
• The church treasury and members’ donations cover most of the cost
• Before COVID-19, classes held over 60 students in one small room

Since 2016, a church in eastern Kingston has been running a free school for adults who never finished secondary education. Mountain View New Testament Church of God Academy offers Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) classes under the motto “Jesus plus education equals success”, the Jamaica Observer reported.

The academy says it has a 75 per cent success rate, with more than 300 students passing across seven subjects including mathematics, English, information technology and principles of business. “There is no tuition fee,” said principal Samantha Bennett. Students pay a registration fee of $3,500 for up to three subjects and $500 for each extra subject. Of its nine teachers, three are paid non-members and six are church members who volunteer.

Registration fees do not cover the cost. The programme is heavily supplemented by the church’s treasury and donations from members, along with an annual fundraiser that could not be held in the two pandemic years. Since 2016 more than 880 students have enrolled and 349 have sat exams. More than 85 per cent are adults, some in their 50s and 60s, and they come from as far as St Catherine and rural St Andrew.

Space is tight. Administrator Jacinth Waugh said that before COVID-19 some classes had over 60 students in one room. “It was a small space with a big heart and filled with potential,” she said. Classes moved online during the pandemic. The academy has asked for help with teacher costs, classroom furniture and equipment such as desks, chairs, whiteboards, projectors and computers, a furnished computer lab, textbooks, jobs for graduates and tertiary scholarships.

The academy shows how much a church building can do on weekdays. A room that might otherwise be empty is now a free adult school with a track record of exam passes, run largely on the congregation’s own money. Its request list is a practical guide for anyone wanting to help: furniture, a proper computer lab and more classroom space would let the programme grow beyond one crowded room. For diaspora members and businesses looking for a project in east Kingston, fitting out a church-based classroom is an affordable investment with results that can be measured in exam passes.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com