Peter Bunting, the Opposition spokesman on education, wants more emphasis to be placed on improving the quality of education in the early-childhood sector instead of seeking to play catch-up in later years.
“Roughly three to four per cent of the education budget is spent on early childhood, and even if we adjust the amount for the size of the student cohort, you will probably have five times as much being spent per student, per year, in the primary and secondary schools.
Citing the results of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Study, which was conducted by researchers in the United States’ Michigan School District in 1962, Bunting said that students who were given high-quality preschool education were less likely to fall into crime.
Out of the Government’s J$853.5-billion Budget for the 2020-21 financial year, J$117 billion has been allocated to the education sector.
Of that amount, based on Bunting’s calculations, approximately J$4.7 billion has been set aside for early-childhood education.
