Gov’t increases cash for early learning
(CNS): The monthly payments for parents in the Early Childhood Assistance Programme (ECAP) has been increased by $50 for supplementary funding and $30 for basic funding to help parents who are struggling in the face of the current health crisis. The programme helps parents of Caymanians kids aged three and over cover the cost of sending them to early learning centres ahead of primary school.
Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the aim of the programme was to provide young children with a strong educational foundation. “These children will be able to consistently pursue their early childhood education without undue financial stress on their parents,” she said, with reference to the extra cash made available by the ministry.
She said that the additional payments will give parents access to a wider variety of early childhood care and education centres (ECCEs), “increasing the likelihood of placing their child in an environment that best meets their child’s needs. Early childhood education is integral to the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.”
The payment for eligible parents receiving enrollment fees will be increased from $275 to $305 for basic funding and from $450 to 500 per month for supplementary funding.
For more information about ECAP, contact the ECCE Unit at the Ministry of Education by emailing ecap@gov.ky
ECAP application forms are available on the education ministry website or by collecting the forms from the Government Administration Building, the Department of Education Services and all Early Childhood Education Centres.
Category: Education, Local News
Why should the government (i.e. the taxpayers) cover the cost of providing special services for parents that are already benefiting from free or mostly free educational services?
The taxpayers of this country don’t currently help individuals and families that have fallen on hard times to pay their mortgages so why would those same taxpayers be expected to provide funding for parents to support their children’s education?
Personally, I am sick of the white man magic that says you have to go to an institute of indoctrination, sorry learning, and regurgitate a bunch of “facts” that you will never be asked to use again unless you want to build skyscrapers, genetically modify food, send rockets into space and generally be a nuisance to the rest of us.
Listen up. I don’t give a toss if I can download a movie in 1.7 nanoseconds or watch it at the cinema with my girlfriend.
Why do I need 5G? Planes were flying across the continents from the 1960s and the cabin crew aka hosts and hostesses were a damned sight friendlier than the thugs we have today.
As a white man, sorry about the magic. We were wrong.
Fix the system from within! There is no reason that all public schools aren’t functioning from pre K on for Caymanians most free of charge. Fees could be less than private for locals too but no one would dare send their child to public school here anymore. Those days are gone.
My child has dyslexia and there is NO assistance from the government or any support from the public school for a speech therapist.
The government’s solution is to group kids in lower sets and have them colour and watch TV.
One of the MAIN reasons many kids aren’t capable of getting through high school is because of learning disabilities that the school ignores and the government FAILS to give proper funding for.
Let’s not even start if your kid has ADHD or another issue.
As a fellow dyslexic, this is sad and distressing to hear. What I heard that was even sadder recently was the school I used to go to (Cayman Prep) is doing away with all learning support. Apparently they want to re-brand as an “elite school”. This makes me so angry as it’s like they believe that children with learning disabilities will tarnish their school’s reputation. Whether you are in private or public school there needs to be some form of learning support for children with learning disabilities. kids who struggle with learning difficulties can go on to university and become successful given the right chance. Speaking from experience. Come on CIG help out the future generation!
That is not true. I am a Prep Parent with children in the primary and high school.
Prep has added more learning support resources this year. In the primary school, instead of children being pulled out of their main class, the learning support is joining the child in the class several times a week as a more inclusive and less disruptive approach.
At the High School, many of the best performers at IGSE are students who have had the benefit of learning support from K through Y11.
If anything, Prep PROVES that getting learning support early on and in the right form, helps children achieve their full potential, whether that is 1 IGCSE (instead of none) or 10 instead of 4.
Prep and St. Ignatius are child centered institutions and the parents are involved.
I only wish more children from lower income families could access that type of learning environment in the public schools.
TIME FOR CHANGE.
They got rid of XXXX and other learning support teachers at the high school. That is not a lie. As for there “excellent” learning support. It has only come about since she started. I went through kindergarten up to year 8 with everyone thinking I was stupid. visited a learning psychologist and turns out nope not stupid at all just Dyslexic. 2 degrees later that is the biggest “take that I can give”. As for taking them out of special learning. Inclusivity is all good and all but I don’t see how it improves the children learning. It would be distracting and they might not get the full benefit of the lesson than if they had a few smaller classes.
No they didn’t
10:29 you sure about that?
Positive.
Straight up lie.
My niece attended summer program for kids with dyslexia in Alaska. And so did friend’s son. Strange that they were born one month apart and were both dyslexics. Environmental cause? Anyhow they are 19 and one is already flying small planes, and my niece is in college, she wants to be a speech therapist. Dyslexia is not a lifetime sentence. Most children with dyslexia can succeed in school with tutoring or a specialized education program.
Any comments from the Minister of Education on yesterday’s results of the CXC exams?
Will take her some time to wordsmith the sugarcoating of the failings of her Ministry.
The PPM/Unity cabal gets a $300mln open line of credit and starts immediately spending on vote-buying for the 2021 election campaign using our money and loan reserve…no cuts, and no balance of payments. It’s just spend spend spend like you’ve only got a few more months in office.