KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dean-Roy Bernard, says the Government is placing greater focus on advancing early childhood education to ensure the system produces more well-rounded students who are high achievers.

Bernard said the level of education a child receives during the first three years of his/her life is pivotal in setting a solid foundation for future academic excellence.

 This, he said, is evidenced by the accomplishments of outstanding individuals such as 2017 Rhodes Scholar, Shakeba Foster, who, he noted, has been excelling from her early years.

Foster, who is 23-years-old, holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Economics with distinction; and a first-class honours Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Banking and Finance from the University of the West Indies (UWI). She edged out 10 other candidates to emerge the winner of the prestigious scholarship.

Bernard said it is this calibre of student that the education ministry aspires to continue producing.

 “We recognise that to get (more) ‘Shakebas’ in Jamaica, we have to be deliberate about (the) early stimulation of our children. And so we are partnering with the Ministry of Health as it relates to the first 1,000 days of a child’s life in Jamaica to be deliberate about interventions,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary was speaking at a function held in honour of Foster at the UWI Mona Visitors’ Lodge in St Andrew on Saturday.

Bernard said one such intervention is streamlining early childhood education, “so that our children are assessed very early and we can design the educational pathway in partnership with parents.”