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Golding defends spending on early childhood education
Friday, October 31, 2008
PRIME Minister Bruce Golding has rejected a recent statement by Joan Neil, Organisation of American States (OAS) director, that Jamaica's spending on early childhood education comes at the expense of successive education levels.
"Now we are being told that we are being foolish. That is not the word that was used but that is what was meant. I do not necessarily accept that," Golding told a high-powered gathering of public and private sector workers at the National Productivity Conference 2008 in Kingston Tuesday.
Neil, who was speaking with the Observer after addressing the opening session of the two-day Caribbean Child Research Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel last week, said that Government's current thrust to shore up early childhood education across the country is short-sighted and will not yield sustainable benefits. She said then, that Government was putting too much money into early childhood education alone and not enough for the children at higher levels.
But said Golding: "I found it strange because we were told before by international experts and organisations... that part of our problem is that we are not spending enough on early childhood education and it made a lot of sense to me."
He said over the past four years, the Government has taken a number of steps to improve the education, care and protection of the very young. Among them are the passing of the Child Care and Protection Act which paved the way for the Children's Registry and the Office of the Children's Advocate. It also set up the Early Childhood Commission to streamline the educational services at that level and has implemented mandatory registration of early childhood institutions.
But that approach, according to Neil, was not enough to stem the tide of illiteracy and innumeracy, antisocial behaviour, unpreparedness for the labour market and unemployment among youth.
Said Golding: "The primary level is a continuation of early childhood education. That training has to be done. It is not a matter of resources, we are to spend $54 billion on education this year and that is not an insignificant amount of money; we need to spend more but we also need to make sure we are getting value for the $54 billion."
Friday, October 31, 2008
PRIME Minister Bruce Golding has rejected a recent statement by Joan Neil, Organisation of American States (OAS) director, that Jamaica's spending on early childhood education comes at the expense of successive education levels.
"Now we are being told that we are being foolish. That is not the word that was used but that is what was meant. I do not necessarily accept that," Golding told a high-powered gathering of public and private sector workers at the National Productivity Conference 2008 in Kingston Tuesday.
Neil, who was speaking with the Observer after addressing the opening session of the two-day Caribbean Child Research Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel last week, said that Government's current thrust to shore up early childhood education across the country is short-sighted and will not yield sustainable benefits. She said then, that Government was putting too much money into early childhood education alone and not enough for the children at higher levels.
But said Golding: "I found it strange because we were told before by international experts and organisations... that part of our problem is that we are not spending enough on early childhood education and it made a lot of sense to me."
He said over the past four years, the Government has taken a number of steps to improve the education, care and protection of the very young. Among them are the passing of the Child Care and Protection Act which paved the way for the Children's Registry and the Office of the Children's Advocate. It also set up the Early Childhood Commission to streamline the educational services at that level and has implemented mandatory registration of early childhood institutions.
But that approach, according to Neil, was not enough to stem the tide of illiteracy and innumeracy, antisocial behaviour, unpreparedness for the labour market and unemployment among youth.
Said Golding: "The primary level is a continuation of early childhood education. That training has to be done. It is not a matter of resources, we are to spend $54 billion on education this year and that is not an insignificant amount of money; we need to spend more but we also need to make sure we are getting value for the $54 billion."
