Five-year Latin American and Caribbean Reads Capacity programme ends
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Reads Capacity programme, which has supported early grade reading in Jamaica, closed its curtains on June 27 at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston.
The programme supported early grade reading through the development of state-of-the-art knowledge resources and technical assistance to key government and private sector stakeholders over the last five years, to enhance early grade reading outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged children.
Minister without portfolio in the Education Ministry Karl Samuda was not in attendance but sent his regards to the organisation and expressed thanks for the partnership in a speech delivered by Dr Grace McLean, permanent secretary.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to have partnered with USAID for five years,” she said.
“We have tried to get more students interested in reading stories and books from an early age, because this we know is critical to their development, ability to understand words, [and will help them] use their imagination and develop their speech. Your theme, ‘Laying Early Reading Foundations for Sustainability’, underscores the long-term aims of this programme,” the permanent secretary continued.
McLean added: “I want to acknowledge Dr Doreen Faulkner, monitoring and evaluation specialist; Dr Andre Hill, national literacy coordinator; the Book Industry [Association] of Jamaica; the Planning Institute of Jamaica, The University of the West Indies, just to name a few, as well as the writers who responded by providing age-appropriate stories and poems for the children.”
She also added that some-time last year, the ministry received findings of a stakeholder mapping and analysis research on early grade literary practices in Jamaica, provided by the USAID, and the information shared has been useful in helping the education ministry explore ways in which the early reading stakeholder community can give more support to address the challenges identified.
“This project, along with broader national efforts, supports the aims and objectives of the national standards curriculum to develop in our children the ability to read and to develop critical thinking skills from an early age.
“So as we have transitioned from the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) to the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), we have been emphasising that it is through reading and self-directed learning that students will be able to apply the knowledge they have acquired,” McLean said.
She also thanked the USAID for the investment in education as a fundamental driver of development, particularly amongst the disadvantaged youth in Jamaica.
— Shanae Stewart