THE need for the Government’s push to strengthen the integration of science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM) into the fabric of the country’s education system has been underscored by some of the challenges faced by Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) in the data collection for Jamaica’s 2022 Population and Housing Census.

The data collection process for the census, which was done digitally this time around, was initially set to be completed in four months by December 2022.

However, after challenges, a new date of March 2023 was set, but there have been further delays and the process is yet to be completed.

Now employees of Statin are in the field collecting additional data as part of a mopping up exercise, with no new deadline for the release of the completed census yet announced.

Last week, Statin’s Deputy Director General Leesha Delatie-Budair admitted that in addition to the failure to employ the targeted 7,000 data collectors, the decision to move to the digital system of collecting the data was also a challenge.

“We did have issues with persons using the technology because one of the things that we have found is that more mature persons make better census takers. It’s hard work. It’s walking in the sun, it’s people setting their dogs on you. It takes a particular personality to deal with all of that challenge,” Delatie-Budair told
Jamaica Observer editors and reporters.

“But globally the whole world is moving towards digitising data collection for several reasons – improved data quality, and it also shortens the process on the back end. So when we made the decision to move digital it was consistent with the best practices for the 2020 round of censuses,” added Delatie-Budair.

Statin had introduced tablet computers in its surveys since 2013, but this would be new for some of the experienced census takers who would have used a paper based system some 10 years ago when the 14th Population and Housing Census was done.

“So we anticipated that there would be challenges and as such we tried to put in mitigation approach so this training, for example, was the most resourced training that we had for any sort of data collection.

“In addition to our traditional manuals we had videos, we had online activities [and] we had a number of supplemental material to try and make it better but what we could not have predicted was COVID,” said Delatie-Budair.

She pointed out that during the pandemic Statin pivoted to virtual training and that was a major issue.

Delatie-Budair further noted that connectivity was not a problem as the census takers could have worked offline.

According to Delatie-Budair, the mopping-up phase of the census is now underway and should not last too long but she shied away from giving any timelines.

“The main data collection process was quite extended, so where we are now is in the mopping-up phase. We don’t anticipate an extended data processing period, but of course this census has been so unusual that we are trying to be very conservative with all estimates and timelines because we have had so many challenges,” said Delatie-Budair.

The Ministry of Education has launched several initiatives to expand STEAM education across the Jamaica’s education sector as it moves to become the technological hub of the Caribbean.