Gov’t pledges trained teachers in all early childhood institutions by September 2026

By September 2026, every early-childhood institution (ECI) across Jamaica will be staffed with at least one trained teacher.

This was announced by Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, during the meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on March 6, whose members reviewed the 2026/27 Estimates of Expenditure.

Morris Dixon advised that, at present, 108 basic schools across Jamaica are operating without a trained teacher.

“What we have done, as Government… in understanding the importance of the early years, is to provide every early-childhood institution with at least one trained teacher… and so we pay that salary,” she said.

Morris Dixon noted that the Ministry is actively collaborating with primary schools, infant departments, and basic schools to ensure the consistent delivery of quality education.

“These are private institutions that the Government of Jamaica has put money in… and it’s not just paying for a trained teacher so that we can increase the quality. It has also been assisting with maintenance, training of those persons in those institutions and many of those private institutions. We even provide support for the caregivers… through our stipends,” she explained.

Morris Dixon reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to building more infant departments that are attached to primary schools, as well as Brain Builder Centres.

In July 2018, the Ministry launched the Jamaica Brain Builders Programme at a cost of $540 million, with the objective of reducing cognitive learning challenges among infants nationwide.

These centres are staffed by trained early-childhood practitioners, who facilitate activities designed to stimulate and strengthen motor skills, attention span, memory, and curiosity in young children.

They place strong emphasis on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, recognising this critical period as foundational in shaping cognitive development.

- JIS News

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