Government to train 400 teachers in special education

Ronald Thwaites, Minister of Education, said many children are failing in school due to the lack of cognitive, emotional and social assessment and treatment. He said with this in mind the government is moving to train 400 teachers in special education this year to diagnose social and personal challenges that children may have.

Mr. Thwaites, who was speaking in the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives Wednesday, said that his ministry is targeting 2016 for having trained special education teachers in every school on a full-time or part-time basis.

Mr. Thwaites added that there will also be improvement in the number of treatment centres for young persons with disabilities.  

“The budget provides for establishment of three new diagnostic and care centres. They will be situated at Church Teachers’ College in Mandeville; the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College in Montego Bay and the Passley Gardens Teachers’ College in Portland,” said Mr. Thwaites.

Mr. Thwaites also disclosed that the government is taking a different approach to the funding of the island's two universities.  He said that taxpayers' contributions to universities will now go towards specific programmes of research and instructional programmes.

“The tradition has been for the government to give large annual grants to UWI and UTech – J$8.5 billion this year. We need to keep these universities going, but rather than a straight grant, we feel the  taxpayers’ contribution should hereon be related to specific research and instructional programmes; and projects which adds focus value to Jamaica at this time and do not duplicate each other’s programme,” continued Mr. Thwaites.

He added that discussions are underway with the Universities to identify and cost the programmes which the government can support.