Specialists examine National Education Plan
By Melissa Bryant
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
~~Adz:Right~~ BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – STAKEHOLDERS in the education community were given the opportunity to speak their ‘two cents’ when they attended the Early Childhood Policy Consultation yesterday (Nov. 4) at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino.
Government officials, day care centre supervisors and parents were among some of the delegates who attended to give their feedback.
The opening ceremony also drew the presence of Tom Olsen, the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative for Barbados and the Caribbean, who delivered the feature address and urged those present “to always put children in the centre of development, because we cannot have economic growth or sustainable growth without investing in the quality of education, starting with Early Childhood Development (ECD)”.
ECD Coordinator Vanta Walters stressed that it was “high time for a change”.
“The existing policy here in St. Kitts and Nevis has been present for 25 years. This consultation provides the opportunity for the stakeholders in the education sector to review the revised document with the view of making recommendations and facilitate the building of awareness and understanding of its contents and implications,” said Walters.
She further stated that the document would guide future development in the nation’s early childhood policies and enable the creation of strategies which would improve the sector.
Wentford Rogers, a Personnel Officer in the Ministry of Education, officially declared the consultation open and told the gathering that “the policy would be for the benefit of the children and the country overall, as it is only with an adequate ECD sector our children will be prepared for primary school and for life in general”.
According to Rogers, an evaluation will be performed every three years to ensure that the policy remains up-to-date and continues to operate effectively. No date was however given for the policy’s expected implementation.
