A US$1.5 million Early Childhood Development Centre for Innovation is slated for construction in St. James East Central this year.

This was announced by Tourism Minister and Member of Parliament, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, who said it is intended to break ground in March and complete the institution’s construction in time to be opened for the start of the 2023/24 academic year, in September.

He was speaking during a fundraising dinner to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the East Central St. James Education Fund, at the Half Moon Hotel Conference Centre in Montego Bay, on January 14.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness and Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, headed the officials attending.

Mr. Bartlett said the innovation centre is expected to “change the concept of early-childhood education” in western Jamaica.

“We feel that something is missing in terms of our own programme, and we have to start at the right place, so we decided that we must make amends. That gave birth to the concept of the Early Childhood Development Centre for Innovation, which will cater to 100 children at a time on a revolving basis,” he informed.

Mr. Bartlett said the institution “will be a Climate Action School (CAS)”, through the Take Action Global (TAG) network, and also a designated Ministry of Education and Youth ‘Parent Place’.

He further indicated that the space will define early childhood regionally and internationally, with various teacher-support and exchange programmes, along with parent engagement and training, which will highlight the constituency as “the cutting-edge driver of early-childhood transformation”.

The Minister said the focus on early childhood comes on the heels of a programme that saw more than 10,000 primary, secondary and tertiary students benefiting from $60 million in scholarships over the years.

“This [early-childhood development centre] is the next step in building the human capital in the constituency. We have graduated doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, policemen and preachers.

“Currently, we have students in every high school in the county of Cornwall and other high schools outside of the county. We have students in every teachers’ college in Jamaica, in every university in Jamaica and in universities in the United States, in Canada and in China and Spain,” Mr. Bartlett added.

Against this background, the Minister said he was pleased with the positive impact that the scholarship fund has been having on the lives of students.

Mr. Bartlett added that “in all of this, we find that there are issues that have to do with staying with things that matter, and the way in which we seem to have taught our children to manage their lives and relationships”.

“This is a world where they have to learn how to deal with conflict resolution, with understanding differences, and how they treat with business and other relationships,” he said.

Prime Minister Holness, in commending Mr. Bartlett on his “commitment to education”, said he is very impressed with the initiative, while indicating that “I am very interested in the concept of an early-childhood centre becoming an innovation centre”.

“I want to see the curriculum and the pedagogy to be used in the centre and have already suggested to the Education and Youth Minister, [Hon.] Fayval Williams, [that] this is something she might want to take a special interest in, because it may not only be an education for the learners in terms of innovation, but it might very well be an innovation in teaching,” he added.

Minister Williams, in her remarks, said the innovation centre is aligned with the transformation of education now taking place in Jamaica “and the reimagining that we must do”.

The Education and Youth Ministry is placing focus on expanding the tertiary education sector with options for students to access financing.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, told JIS News that the objective is to ensure that a “higher percentage of our population is educated at higher levels”.

She said statistics indicate that enrolment of students in tertiary institutions remains low relative to those who graduate from secondary school.

“We know that the limiting factor is generally financing, so we have earnestly worked, all during last year, to look at a higher education policy and look at what kind of ideas we can come forward with on financing,” she said.

Minister Williams was speaking to JIS News after addressing an Interfaith Convocation Service at the University Chapel in St. Andrew on Sunday (December 8), to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of UWI, Mona, Professor Dale Webber said the university, across its five campuses, is working to introduce shorter course options that will cater to students who have to work while pursuing tertiary studies.

“You can also do a one-year diploma or certificate [and] we’re now getting into even shorter courses for three [or] six weeks. They (courses) are all going to be put together in a way where we can determine what we call ‘laddering’. So [a student will do] a bit now, go back to work, do another little bit, go back to work, and you can ladder into a programme,” he explained.

Professor Webber said that the 75th anniversary provides an opportunity to further grow the institution.

“We’re aligning our research with what society needs, and we are being more agile in making it possible, within a shorter time, to reach places that we’ve never gone before. We look forward to sharing with all of Jamaica, the Caribbean, and the world,” he said.

University Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer, Dr. Maurice Smith, informed that several activities are slated to take place in each region to celebrate the institution’s 75th anniversary.

“We have academic conferences, lectures, parties, galas, talent shows [and] we have features to celebrate those awesome members of staff, who have been working across universities,” he noted.

Persons can see a full list of activities to mark the anniversary milestone on the university’s website at http://www.mona.uwi.edu.

Jamaica’s tertiary education sector has been in a state of modification and transformation over the past several decades says Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams.

She noted that universities, community colleges, and teacher-training colleges and higher vocational institutions have been responding to demands wrought by changes in the economy and society at the national, regional and global levels.

“In their efforts to do this, many institutions are exploring new ways in which they can reposition themselves, by offering new programmes or more flexible delivery modalities, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by new technologies,” she stated.

The Minister was speaking during the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)/Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (JTEC) joint webinar, entitled ‘Beyond Limits: New Ways to Reinvent Higher Education’, on Wednesday (November 30).

Mrs. Williams said the Government, through the Ministry, has been implementing a strategic and integrated programme of education and training.

This, she informed, includes a standardised programme for the pre-primary to secondary levels, linked to tertiary education and skills training.

Coupled with this, the Minister added, is support for transitioning into the labour market on completion of secondary and/or tertiary-level education.

“Discussions, focused on improving critical components of the tertiary or higher-education sector, have been ongoing. This includes issues relating to increasing access, funding for students and institutions, and matters relating to the relevance of programmes within the context of the changing needs of the labour market,” Mrs. Williams said.

She noted that these discussions have been informed and shaped by best practices employed in other education jurisdictions.

The Minister further stated that there have been significant efforts over the years to establish a modernised governance framework for the oversight and management of the higher-education sector in Jamaica.

She cited the 2021 Report of the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission, led by Professor Orlando Patterson, which provides the impetus for current actions.

“Discussions surrounding higher education and training must, therefore, consider how the sector will ensure that programmes offered are intentionally designed to support the changing societal and labour market needs. This is particularly important given the continuing impact of COVID-19, climate change, global supply chain challenges, and inflationary pressures,” Mrs. Williams said.

Meanwhile, the Minister pointed out that Jamaica’s thrust to transform its higher education sector is driven by a number of critical goals.

These, she indicated, include widening participation in higher education, facilitating multiple pathways of access to higher education, enabling greater levels of learner success and completion, and strengthening the relationship between secondary and higher education to improve outcomes.

Other focus areas include ensuring appropriate and relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks; promoting a quality culture; integrating technical and interdisciplinary content and skills; leveraging resources within the education system to alleviate constraints; institutionalising flexible and agile administrative systems, processes and controls; contributing meaningfully to socio-economic development, and promoting internationalisation.

“We think that these are central to a modern system and drive processes that are agile and sustainable. We commend these to stakeholders across UNESCO’s regional and global networks,” Mrs. Williams said.

She added that the Government of Jamaica appreciates that a modernised higher education and training system will make a meaningful and telling contribution to continuous robust economic growth.

Approximately 80 volunteers have been commissioned as Parent Mentors by the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) to provide assistance to families.

The mentors, who were trained through 10 modules over several weeks, will help to guide parents in proper disciplinary measures and offer other means of support.

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, commended the volunteers from various communities across the island, for coming forward as parent mentors.

The Minister was delivering the keynote address at the recent graduation ceremony held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.

She said that anecdotal media reports and studies confirm that some parents need targeted guidance and coaching in raising their children.

She cited a United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) report, which indicates that up to 80 per cent of Jamaican children experience violence in all forms at home and 65 per cent encounter bullying at school.

“The factors that cause parents not to be as effective as they should be vary, ranging from social and economic challenges that can lead to high levels of stress, which are then manifested and transferred as aggression towards children, and acceptance of cultural behaviour as normal, when in fact, they are not,” she pointed out.

Mrs. Williams informed that the Ministry is seeking funding for a programme that would “allow at least 10 sessions of heavy-duty psychosocial support for parents and children.”

For her part, Chief Executive Officer of the NPSC, Kaysia Kerr, said that the parent mentorship programme remains the flagship initiative of the commission, with roughly 400 mentors across the island.

“Each mentor is mapped to several schools within a five-mile radius of where they reside and they offer support to help to build out the parental involvement framework in schools, because that’s what we’re about,” she noted.

The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) is inviting support to meet the sector’s various needs. 

The Commission met with private partners and donors on Thursday (November 17) to raise awareness about the entity’s work, while identifying the most critical areas for funding.  

Thursday’s discussion forum, under the theme: ‘Raising the Bar in Early Childhood Development’, was held at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston.  

Six categories of need have been identified: resources for developmental/educational programmes; teacher training scholarships to increase the number of qualified practitioners; brain builder centres/parenting support/learning kits; special needs/inclusive classrooms; and support for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in early childhood institutions (ECIs) and regional early childhood development resource centres. 

It is anticipated that, based on the needs expressed, the partners will identify an area of interest that is aligned with the primary objectives of their organisations and make a commitment for support. 

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, who addressed the partners, noted that “many ECIs need improved facilities, municipality approvals, sanitation support, [and] food handlers permits.”   

She indicated that support for ICT and learning tools, as well as teacher-training scholarships, are also welcomed.   

Chair of the ECC, Trisha Williams-Singh, advised that support from various partners over the years, has enabled 301 ECIs to become certified.  

“Over time, this has resulted in a decrease in the number of delinquent institutions and an increase in children attending ECIs that meet the requirements of the 12 standards,” she pointed out.  

Meanwhile, the ECC is drafting the fourth National Strategic Plan (NSP) to further advance the sector of the five-year period, from 2023 to 2028. 

With an implementation date of March 2023, the Plan will replace the 2018 to 2023 programme, which resulted in several improvements in outcomes at the early childhood level. 

It will build on the foundations of the previous strategic plan, and the first one implemented for 2008 to 2013, by providing a roadmap for the ECC in its regulatory and coordinating capacity. 

The NSP includes five focus areas which serve to assist stakeholders in providing the relevant support and services required for the proper growth and development of children. 

These areas are effective parenting education and support; effective preventative health care; early and effective screening; diagnosis and intervention for at-risk children; the provision of safe, learner-centred, well-maintained ECI facilities; and effective curriculum delivery. 

The ECC, an agency of the Ministry of Education and Youth, is mandated to regulate and coordinate early childhood services in Jamaica.