JTA Backs Court Test of Government's Duty on Early Childhood Education

The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) says it is paying close attention to a constitutional matter lodged by Opposition Spokesman on Education Damion Crawford, who is asking the court to rule on whether the Government has fallen short of its duty to provide publicly funded quality education to children at the pre-primary and primary levels.

JTA President Mark Malabver told The Gleaner that the case "would make for interesting deliberation by the court", and that he is keen to learn how the judiciary will define the State's responsibility for early childhood education.

"There are major challenges with early childhood education, there are major challenges with primary education, and I believe those things need to be fixed," Malabver said.

The association, he noted, has long taken issue with how successive administrations have managed the sector, arguing that it has never been treated as a development priority.

"We have long held the view that private entities are the major players in early childhood education, and the reality is that private entities are primarily driven by profits and not necessarily by ensuring that a child has the quality education at the foundational level," he added.

Crawford, speaking during his Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives last Tuesday, contended that the rights of Jamaican children are being violated because state agencies have not put in place enough public schools to absorb the children seeking places.

He disclosed that the constitutional claim was filed on April 7, and that he wants the court to determine whether the administration is honouring its obligations under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

"The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms guarantees every child the right to publicly funded tuition at the pre-primary and primary levels. This is not aspirational. It is binding," Crawford stressed.

He described the early childhood sub-sector as structurally weak and said its shortcomings feed many of the wider difficulties in the country's education system. Citing assessment figures, he noted that about 54 per cent of four-year-olds tested were judged developmentally ready for school, and pointed to a shortage of trained teachers at that level.

Crawford also said spending on early childhood education stands at just 0.24 per cent of gross domestic product, well short of the one per cent international benchmark.

Malabver echoed those concerns, saying the time has come for the State to take the lead role in the sub-sector rather than leaving it largely in private hands. With the country's fertility rate trending downward, he is recommending that more early childhood institutions be paired with existing primary schools.

"We believe that these spaces should be transformed into early childhood centres of excellence, so that the child can make that transition out of early childhood into primary schools in a more seamless way," he told The Gleaner.

Figures cited in recent reporting indicate that over 200 primary schools island-wide are running at less than half their enrolment capacity, a slide attributed largely to lower birth rates and outward migration. Jamaica's total fertility rate stood at roughly 1.9 births per woman as of 2024, beneath the 2.1 replacement threshold and pointing to slowing population growth.