Children with special needs are set to benefit from major technological advancements at The Mico College University Child Assessment and Research in Education (CARE) Centre under a partnership with Digicel Foundation and the Ministry of Education.

The development was announced on Monday at the signing of a memorandum of understanding at the ministry’s head office at National Heroes’ Circle in Kingston.

Charmaine Daniels, chief executive officer at Digicel Foundation Jamaica, expressed excitement about the planned upgrades, noting that the foundation would also be investing US$75,000 in the centre to ensure all needs for the facility’s improvement were met.

“We’re very happy and proud to have a partner that works with us. We do not pretend at the foundation to be experts. We are here to work with you and to work for you, and so we are looking forward to delivering what you have asked, as you have asked it, and we know that it will be put to good use,” Daniels said as she thanked both the ministry and Mico for their work in making the initiative possible.

According to permanent secretary at the ministry Dr Kasan Troupe, the initiative will support the upgrade of five classrooms to meet innovative learning environment (ILE) standards, by providing information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance learning conditions.

“Today, we are building out five classrooms over by Mico CARE. We’re looking at ICT support, smart rooms, and smart technology in those rooms. We’re looking at making sure the room is fit for purpose. The windows will be renovated, the floor and the doors, everything you can think of to make it smart and adequate for students who need this kind of support. So the ministry, again, is really grateful and extremely proud and we fully endorse this investment in Mico CARE,” said Troupe.

She also declared that in addition to the renovation of classrooms, the ministry has sourced additional workers to better handle the high demand of assessments for children at the centre.

“Mico CARE is one of our lead assessment support services for our special needs students in Jamaica and we have heard the cry that they need more. The parents are coming out and they are responding to the call from teachers and principals for their children to be assessed and Mico is overburdened with that,” Troupe said.

“So they continue to call upon us for support and I must announce that we have provided the human resource support to expand the assessment services at The Mico CARE. We have done so also for Church Teachers’ College, Sam Sharpe Teachers College, and we have the structure in place for CASE (College of Agriculture Science and Education) that we are building to support the assessment services for students in Region 2, which covers Portland, St Thomas, and St Mary,” said Troupe.

Dr Sharon Anderson-Morgan, director of The Mico CARE Centre, told the ceremony that she was grateful for the improvements to come, noting that intervention in children with special needs is essential to their development as well-rounded adults.

“I want to highlight the power of partnership, and also to say that we’re investing in the right places, even though the stories are not often told, but just rest assured that a difference is being made, and it’s a difference that will go on for a lifetime and affect generations,” she said.

The Mico University College CARE Centre, per its website, states that it was established in 1980 as a centre of excellence, dedicated to child assessment and research in education. It was formed through a partnership between the Netherlands and Jamaican governments.

The centre serves children 4-18 years who meet one or more of the following criteria:

* Children who are not making sufficient academic progress, despite intervention in the regular school;

* Children who exhibit emotional and behavioural problems that inhibit learning;

* Children who are experiencing difficulties in reading, written expression and mathematics; and

* Children who might be gifted and/or talented yet are underperforming in school.

It also caters to parents who need guidance concerning child development and behaviour management, as well as teachers and other professionals who require skills to equip them to treat with learners who have various exceptionalities.