Damion Crawford, the Opposition Spokesman on Education, has highlighted significant shortcomings in Jamaica’s early childhood education sector, emphasizing that the lack of proper assessment of a large percentage of four-year-olds before they start school can leave many children unprepared for future learning.
Crawford turned the spotlight on the issue during his contributions to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
He stated that, out of approximately 29,729 four-year-olds assessed in 2024, only 54.4 percent met all of the expected developmental milestones. The fact that 19 percent of students enrolled in a program were never assessed raises questions about the effectiveness of current policies and their long-term impact on children’s development.
“This indicates that a significant proportion of children are entering primary school without the necessary developmental readiness. More concerning is that these deficiencies are largely environmental and structural, not biological.”
Damion Crawford asserted that the political system is failing children before formal education even begins.
Most importantly, Crawford noted that access to early childhood education remains limited, especially for children aged 0 to 3.
The availability of services heavily relies on private and community operators, which means that access often depends on families’ ability to pay, raising awareness of inequalities faced by the most vulnerable children.
Besides, Crawford noted that only about 15 percent of institutions are fully certified, and funding remains at approximately 0.24 percent of GDP-far below the international benchmark of 1 percent-raising concerns about policy priorities and resource allocation.
Additionally, Damion Crawford said fewer than 19 percent of teachers in the early childhood education sector hold a bachelor’s degree.