Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
DAMNING DATA from a report on the early child-hood sector, prepared by a subcommittee of the Dr. Rae Davis-chaired task force on educational reform, has revealed that most of the island's basic schools are operating from substandard structures not suitable for learning.
This uncomplimentary fact was among several key issues highlighted by the Early Childhood Education, Care and Development Sector Report, which was presented to then Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson last year.
"According to a Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture survey, the location of the majority of basic schools is less than ideal with some operating out of tenement yards, on the compounds of business complexes, on verandahs, in sheds and garages," read a section of the report.
DISCLOSED FINDINGS
Audrey Chin, director and chairperson of the three-year-old CHASE Fund, recently disclosed the findings of the report.
Mrs. Chin told The Gleaner that when the CHASE Fund started to invite applications from the sector, approximately 90 per cent of the requests for financial assistance were for improvements to physical facilities.
"Most of these schools are on verandahs or, as I said before, in sheds and in situations that really are a little deficient in terms of learning environment," em-phasised Mrs. Chin.
She said the CHASE Fund has financed almost 200 interventions and the applications have slowed a bit.
However, she said that much work still remains.
"Of the $324 million approved in project funding to date, $188 million, or 58 per cent of total approvals for early childhood education, have been disbursed for building, upgrading and equipping some 241 basic schools," she said.
QUALITY OF CARE
On the other hand, the report was careful to point out that "early childhood facilities operated by the Church are generally of a substantially higher standard than those owned and operated by private individuals."
Additionally, the report raised major concerns about the quality of the education and care provided at the early childhood level.
Still, all is not lost. The report, carried out by a five-member sub-committee chosen from the 14-member task force on educational reform, said the major achievement recorded by the sector is the almost universal enrolment of children four to six years old.
"According to the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions 2003, of the 150,000 children in this age group, 145,523 or 97 per cent of this cohort are enrolled at the early childhood level," the report noted.
TIME CONSTRAINTS
In its conclusion the report said there are clearly "pockets of excellence" in the system, which "provide (the) opportunity for serious research to identify best practices".
After the Task Force's first report, which was presented to Mr. Patterson in September 2004 and tabled in the House of Represen-tatives in December of that year, insistent calls emerged for a detailed examination of the early childhood sector.
Dr. Davis, in the foreword of the main report, pointed to time constraints as the primary reason for the limited information on the early childhood and tertiary levels of the system.
In response to these calls, Mr. Patterson commissioned the task force to prepare and present a report on the sector "within the shortest possible time frame".
- J. Silvera
