Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
JAMAICA'S MORE than 2,000 early childhood institutions are to come under closer scrutiny following yesterday's passage of the Early Childhood Regulations in the House of Representatives.
Maxine Henry-Wilson, the Minister of Education, who piloted the regulations, said that the new guidelines will strengthen the work of the Early Childhood Commission, which is responsible for monitoring and registering these institutions.
While supporting the regulations, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding raised concerns about funding that would be made available to help early childhood institutions scattered across the island to adhere to the rules.
"... There are many schools, there are some 2,180 basic schools in existence at the moment. There are many of them that are not going to be able to meet the requirements that are set out in both the law and in the regulations," argued Mr. Golding.
EARLY CHILDHOOD TRAINING
The Opposition Leader said one of the regulations requires that every employee and operator must have training in early childhood development by an institution approved by the commission.
"That's laudable, and we wish that were so, but the fact is that many basic schools, especially those in depressed communities and those in rural areas, are operated by persons who do not have this type of training," he pointed out. According to him, even if these institutions were provided with this type of training, they would not be able to "catch up".
Opposition Spokesman on Education, Andrew Holness, also expressed concerns about the security available at early childhood institutions.
But Mrs. Henry-Wilson said funds would be made available through the Culture, Health, Arts, Science and Education (CHASE) Fund for this sector of the education system. In addition, she said more than 1,000 educators completed training through the national skills training agency, HEART, and 314 college trained teachers had been assigned to some of these schools.
