Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer
Harold Robinson (left), representative, UNFPA, Office for the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, raps with Bertrand Bainvel, representative, UNICEF, Jamaica, during the opening ceremony of the Safe Motherhood Conference at the Hilton Kingston hotel, yesterday. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
OCHO RIOS, St Ann:
THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to significantly increase its budget for early childhood education. This call has come from the UNICEF country representative in Jamaica, Bertrand Bainvel, who said that improvements to early childhood education cannot be achieved without an increase in the allocation of funds.
"We need to see more involvement of the private sector, but we need also to see an increase in the Government's budget," he said.
At present, only five per cent of the education budget goes towards early childhood education and Mr. Bainvel is suggesting that this allocation be increased to ten per cent or more, in order for Jamaica to achieve its stated objective.
The UNICEF country representative in Jamaica was speaking on Tuesday at a regional conference on screening, referral and early intervention at Sunset Jamaica Grand Resort in Ocho Rios.
LEGISLATION
The conference is being hosted by the Early Childhood Commission under the theme: 'Early detection for optimal development'.
And speaking in an interview with The Gleaner, Mr. Bainvel commended the Government for enacting legislation such as the Early Childhood Act, and the establishment of an Early Childhood Commission. He said, however, that the allocation of resources must be on par with these developments.
"I must point out that investing in early childhood is actually a way of addressing quite a few manifestations which occur in the later years when the child becomes an adult. Early childhood is also a key strategic intervention to address violence," he added.
In the meantime, Mr. Bainvel said that UNICEF is pleased with the progress being made in early childhood development in Jamaica. "We are clear about what needs to be done and we need to make sure we allocate the resources for these to really happen," he said.
