SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon has highlighted a critical staffing shortage plaguing special needs diagnostic centres in the education sector, noting that a lack of qualified professionals persists even as the Government expands facilities to meet growing demand.

“You can’t have a diagnostic centre and have no staff, and that is one of the big challenges that we face. We’re diagnosing more, and we still have to do a lot more work because there’s a long waitlist for our children who need to be assessed, and we just don’t have enough people in Jamaica,” argued Morris Dixon as she addressed a ground-breaking ceremony for the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive High School in Westmoreland last Thursday.

To combat the shortage, the Ministry of Education has implemented targeted scholarships in educational and clinical psychology for teachers wishing to specialise in these areas. However, the initiative has met an unexpected roadblock: the take-up is low.

“Every opportunity I get a mic [microphone], I say it again: The Ministry of Education has scholarships for teachers who want to specialise in special needs and those areas,” stressed the minister.

She pointed to a similar response to one category of the Barry Wint Scholarship being offered through the Ministry of Health and Wellness in the areas of speech therapy and occupational therapy.

“Those, too, are undersubscribed,” revealed Morris Dixon.

A child is learning and communicating using a visual picture board, fostering development and understanding through interactive therapy for special needs.

“I feel quite sad when I know the needs that we have and then we put scholarships and then they don’t get taken up,” she added.

General information provided on the ministry’s website for the Master’s Degree scholarship has indicated that recipients will be bonded to work in Jamaica for a period not exceeding five years. Continuance of the award is subject to the successful candidates’ satisfactory performance in maintaining a B average or a grade point average of 3.0.

Morris Dixon urged young people who have an interest in teaching to consider focusing on special education.

“This is a good area for you to specialise in. It is an area where there is a tremendous need. Anyone who says they want to be a teacher you know that they intrinsically want to help children. These are children that need a lot of support, and we’re just sweetening the pot by saying there are scholarships available. Anybody who wants to go down this road, it is an area that’s just going to get even bigger and [there will be] a greater need for it. It’s an important area,” argued Morris Dixon.

The education ministry is currently strengthening its capacity for diagnosis and intervention of children with significant specialist needs. This is being done through the implementation of early identification, assessment, and intervention centres across the country.

Services are currently available from centres at Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College in St James and Mico University College in Kingston. The next centre to be opened will be at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland.