Six primary and preparatory school students have been rewarded for stellar performance in the Wizdom CRM Virtual Stock Market Game hosted in collaboration with the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).
Some 575 students from 15 schools across Jamaica were enrolled in the competition, which was held from February 17 to March 17.
Training took place in early February, with the pupils learning about the stock market and investing through financial literacy skills.
Each student was provided with US$10,000 in virtual funds for trading.
The best performing student was Kahleel Hutchinson of Avondale Preparatory School in Kingston, who walked away with the first-place prize at the awards ceremony held at the JSE Headquarters on Harbour Street in Kingston on Tuesday (March 25).
Khalif Wright of Avondale Preparatory and Ashauni Lyons of Excelsior Primary and Infant School in Kingston were awarded second and third place, respectively.
Nalani Cole of Avondale Preparatory School, and Kyle Mighty and Foluke Simpson of Half-Way Tree Primary School, St. Andrew, were the top-three most active students during the month-long competition.
In her keynote address, Deputy Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Winnie Berry, commended JSE for coordinating the competition, noting that it underscores the entity’s commitment to enhancing the financial literacy and management aptitude of young students.
“You are helping them to acquire the skills needed for today’s modern economy. This initiative is an important channel through which they can acquire investment knowledge and develop critical-thinking skills, empowering them to understand the companies that shape their society,” Mrs. Berry said.
She said the game is a welcome initiative in Jamaican schools, as students are learning to budget, invest and make sound financial decisions.
In expressing commendations to the participating students, Mrs. Berry said the Ministry remains committed to supporting transformative educational initiatives that blend technology, finance and artificial intelligence to equip them for the future.
JSE Managing Director, Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, also hailed the students for their courage, curiosity, dedication and financial acumen.
“You have delved into it and we are calling you young investors; it’s not too early and I know that you are going to be wealth creators,” she said.
Dr. Street Forrest expressed gratitude to the parents and teachers for helping to carve out time on the students’ timetables to enable them to participate in the game.
“We want to congratulate all the participants for embracing this challenge. You have been very brave,” she said.
The awards ceremony was held under the theme ‘Empowering Young Minds: Artificial Intelligence-Driven, Gamified Learning and Financial Literacy for Jamaica’s Future Leaders’.
