PM wants speedy interventions for early-childhood education
PRIME MINISTER Andrew Holness said that it is imperative that bold steps are made to speedily improve the infrastructure of early-childhood institutions islandwide, in a bid to provide quality education to the nation’s children.
While endorsing the launch of the Little Leaders programme which was held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Tuesday, he stressed that the Government could not get complacent as it strived to expose children to the highest standard of education.
The Little Leaders initiative, which was founded by the National Baking Company Foundation, targets children between the ages of three and six, with the objective of minimising the disparity in learning among children in that age group. The programme will support overall literacy and provide a special focus on mathematics and science.
“Seventeen early-childhood schools were recently certified. It’s not something that I am particularly pleased Prime Minister Andrew Holness (left) and Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, patron of the National Baking Company Foundation, give Trisha Williams-Singh, chairperson, Early Childhood Commission, their undivided attention at the official launch of Little Leaders at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston on Tuesday. about ... I would love to be told that we had 170 schools meeting the standards but we have to be checked by what the reality is,” he said.
“The reality is, much work has been done in ensuring that teachers and principals are trained in education, the pedagogy and how it is delivered. (However) much more work needs to be done on the infrastructure and management of education. In that regard, we are lagging behind in most schools to meet the standard that is required,” he said.
“Education has been, for me, a partnership exercise. No matter how much money we spend from the national budget we still need to spend more. It is the most valuable and rewarding investment that any country or company can do. Our children deserve the best education possible, and as such we must not compromise.”
Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, businessman and patron of the National Baking Company Foundation, said his organisation would be strident in the commitment to early-childhood education in Jamaica.
“The National Baking Company Foundation wants to expand the efforts being made in early-childhood education and do our part to assist in improving our local education system.” Hendrickson said.
“If we can make a difference in the life of a child, if we can save a couple of lives that might have gone the wrong way, then we would have done something worthwhile. There are so many negatives that will work against us sometimes but all we are trying to do is to make a difference,” he said.
The Little Leaders programme will begin this September with the distribution of its learning kits to more than 2,500 registered institutions islandwide.