Early Childhood Education
Presently, there are one hundred and twenty-five (125) early childhood centres. Of these, 115 are privately operated while the remaining ten are (10) government institutions. Together, all 125 institutions cater for children between ages three to five years. The overall enrolment for the 2017-2018 Academic year stood at 3655, which was an increase of 91 over the previous 3564 in 2016-2017. There are currently 399 children enrolled in the ten government owned early childhood centres and another 3256 in the remaining 115 privately owned institutions which are managed by various entities. This partnership between the government and private institutions to provide 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. Approximately, 90 care givers, from various institutions were trained in the importance of record keeping and data management between September and December 2018. There are plans underway to attempt to offer similar instruction to the remaining care givers who have not yet been so exposed. Additionally, the government provides an annual subvention to all privately operated early childhood centres with an enrolment of fifteen 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 2017-2018 on enrolment, staffing and their level of training.