SECTION II: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Presently, there are one hundred and eighteen (118) early childhood centres. This tally is based on the number of registered institutions that responded to the Annual School Questionnaire. Of these institutions, one hundred and four (104) are privately operated while the remaining fourteen (14) are government institutions. Together, all one hundred and eighteen (118) institutions cater for babies up to two years in Day Care while children between ages three (3) to five (5) years are cared for in the Preschool setting. The overall enrolment for the 2020/21 Academic year stood at three thousand one hundred and forty-two (3142), which was a decrease of five hundred and sixty-two (562) from the previous three thousand seven hundred and four (3704) in 2019-2020.
There are currently four hundred and six (406) children enrolled in the fourteen (14) government owned early childhood centres and another two thousand seven hundred and thirty-six (2736) in the remaining one hundred and fourteen (114) privately owned institutions which are managed by various entities. This partnership between the government and private institutions to provides early quality care and development to all pre-schoolers is in keeping with the government’s thrust towards the achievement of universal access to Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD).
The government has provided assistance to upgrade the physical environment of a number of privately operated early childhood centres. Additionally, the government provides an annual subvention to all privately operated early childhood centres with an enrolment of fifteen (15) or more students. The overall aim is to ensure that all preschool children access quality early childhood education at minimal or no cost to parents. Cost reduction and improved access is of even more significance for those children residing in disadvantaged communities who would otherwise be unable to access early childhood services. This section of the digest provides important data on the Early Childhood Sector for the academic year 2020-2021 on enrolment, staffing and their level of training.