FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA RELEASE
Oxford Road, St. Andrew –
October 5, 2012: Food For The Poor Jamaica, Early Childhood
Commission and HEART Trust / NTA today celebrated World Teachers’ Day with the
signing of a partnership agreement at the Oxford Road Office of HEART Trust /
NTA, for the training of 500 early
childhood education teachers, over five years. The Memorandum of Understanding
which becomes effective this academic year will ensure that scholarships are
provided to practitioners in the early childhood sector, who lack the
required qualifications, owing to financial constraints in accessing and or
completing the required Certification Programmes.
Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding were: Rev. Hon. Ronald
Thwaites, Education Minister; Andrew Mahfood, Chairman, FFP Jamaica; Michelle Campbell, Acting
Executive Director, Early Childhood Commission and Dr. Carolyn Hayle, Executive
Director, HEART Trust/ NTA.
FFP which is financing the project will disburse 50 scholarships every
September and January for the next five years. Each scholarship will have a
value of J$65,000 and will give scholarship recipients the opportunity to
pursue National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQJ) Certification for
Early Childhood Development Level 2. The scholarship will cover the cost of
tuition, travelling and meal allowances for each recipient.
All the partner organizations are responsible for screening the
applicants. HEART Trust / NTA will administer the programme and train the
scholarship recipients. The awardees are to be placed in identified HEART
Trust/NTA approved Centres and benefit from 48 weeks (or 12 months) of
training. The Early Childhood Commission which is the regulating and
coordinating agency for the early childhood development sector will be the
advisory and monitoring body for the initiative. The partner organizations will
engage in the monitoring of the programme and will have monthly consultations,
as part of the monitoring mechanism.
A key requirement for involvement in the scholarship programme is that
each applicant must submit a character reference from either a Pastor or
Justice Of The Peace recommending him / her for the scholarship award.
In delivering Remarks at today’s event, the FFP Jamaica Chairman,
announced that his charity will be supporting the scholarship programme to the
tune of J$32.5 million. Mr. Mahfood
said the training of the 500 teachers is part of the charity’s celebration of
Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary, through the ‘FFP Jamaica 50 Campaign’.
“In demonstrating our commitment to assisting with the development of the
island’s early childhood sector, we are building and or upgrading 50 basic
schools in 50 months in commemoration of Jamaica’s Golden Jubilee,” explained
Mr. Mahfood. “The Campaign is also enhancing the quality of knowledge,
qualification and expertise of teachers in early childhood institutions.”
He expressed FFP’s commitment to improving the infrastructure and human
resources in early childhood institutions. “We want our nation to have the best
quality of teachers so we will be supporting those teachers who do not have the
means to access advanced training. We will also be assisting those teachers who
had been pursuing early childhood education programmes, but have had to
discontinue their studies due to financial constraints,” the FFP Jamaica
Chairman stated.
The ECC and HEART Trust / NTA have
also pledged their commitment to the scholarship programme. Dr. Carolyn Hayle
told participants in today’s Signing Ceremony that her organization “is very
pleased to be partnering with the Food For The Poor and the Early Childhood
Commission to support the training and certification of Early Childhood
Practitioners at the Level 2 National Vocational Qualification standard.”
Pointing out that a good early
childhood education is essential for the nation’s development, Dr. Hayle noted
that the advanced training of early childhood practitioners “will ensure that
going forward, we will have a sustainable workforce to drive the economy.”
The HEART Trust / NTA Executive
Director indicated that the partnership is a historic initiative for the early
childhood sector. “Through the
partnership with the Food For The Poor, for the first time we will be able to
provide financial assistance directly to the Early Childhood Practitioners who
need help in off-setting transportation and related costs,” Dr. Hayle pointed
out. “This collaboration will therefore support those who are most in need and
ensure that they are able to successfully complete their studies.”
Commending the joint agreement, Mrs.
Michelle Campbell reiterated that the training programme will prepare
practitioners with the skills sets that support parents, contribute to the
functioning of an efficient work environment and offer stellar customer service
to children and adults alike.
Expressing concern that currently, there is a training deficit in the
early childhood sector, Mrs. Campbell outlined that the majority of
practitioners in the sector have low levels of qualification.
The Acting Executive Director of the
ECC believes the scholarship programme is of great importance in enhancing the
development of the practitioners and the nation’s children: “This partnership
with FFP, HEART Trust/NTA and the ECC to support the training of 500
practitioners at Level 2 will enhance the manpower of the sector and produce
professionals that are equipped to demonstrate the developmentally appropriate
practices that foster the physical, emotional, social, cognitive and spiritual
development of children typical and atypical from birth to age six.”
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SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 500 EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS
Rev. Hon. Ronald Thwaites, Education Minister (centre); Andrew Mahfood (2nd right), Chairman, Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica; Michelle Campbell (right), Acting Executive Director, Early Childhood Commission (ECC); and Dr. Carolyn Hayle, Executive Director, HEART Trust/ NTA sign the Memorandum of Understanding to provide scholarships to 500 early childhood education teachers, over five years. Representatives from the three partner agencies observe the signatories: (from left) Elizabeth Terry, Director, Special Projects, HEART Trust / NTA; Dr. Wayne Wesley, Chief Technical Director, HEART Trust / NTA; and Richard Williams, Manager, Early Childhood Development Services, ECC and Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director, FFP.
Keynote Speaker, Rev. the Hon.
Ronnie Thwaites, welcomed the scholarship programme, deeming it “the largest
possibility of introducing training into the early childhood sector,” and
predicted that it will yield big dividends for the recipients, their young
charges and the education sector. Indicating that more than a quarter of
Jamaica’s children are experiencing some learning/ educational deficiencies,
Minister Thwaites explained that the best place to recognise and start to
address these deficiencies is at the early childhood level. He said the scholarship programme would put
the teachers in a better position to address educational deficiencies in
pre-primary children.
Noting that the early childhood
sector receives only 4% of the education budget on an annual basis, Minister
Thwaites cautioned that the nation needs to stop marginalizing the
practitioners in that sector.
Commending Food For The Poor for the
donation of “gift and grace and hope to our Jamaican children”, the Education
Minister said the initiative would sensitise more early childhood education
practitioners to the needs of their communities and inspire them to participate
in outreach activities to residents.
Among the attendees at today’s Signing Ceremony were: Dr. Wayne Wesley,
Chief Technical Director, HEART Trust / NTA; Elizabeth
Terry, Director, Special Projects, HEART
Trust / NTA; Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director, FFP; Ron
Burgess, Senior Director, Recipient Services, FFP; Susan Moore, Director,
Recipient Services, FFP; Jean Lowrie-Chin, Board Member, FFP; Richard Williams,
Manager, Early Childhood Development Services, ECC and La Donna Manning,
Communications Manager, ECC.
________________________________________________________________
Contact:
Erica James-King|
PROComm l 926-6740 I Erica.James-King@procomm.com.jm
Petri-Ann Henry | Food For The Poor I
984-5005 | petri-annh@foodforthepoorja.org
how do i apply for this scholarship please?
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