100 Preschool teachers complete first aid training

After participating in basic First Aid and CPR training with this country’s Red Cross Association, one hundred preschool teachers now have the understanding of how to administer help to their students if there’s an emergency.{{more}}

Addressing the teachers, Coordinator of the Education Project Management Unit (EMPU) Chester James said Government has received close to $20 million from the European Union, with $1million being contributed by the Government to fund activities in relation to the Early Childhood Education sector, Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) and Children with Special Needs.

“The purpose of this project is to assist the education sector in reducing its inefficiencies and to improve its effectiveness, in producing appropriate education facilities to re-integrate families who were previously active in the banana sectors in the diversified economy,” he pointed out.

“We want to ensure that after the project is completed (early childhood education) we have a very sound foundation on which we can build,” James stated.

“We thought that the project could assist persons in the private sector in improving the quality of education that they provide. Hence we conceptualized this programme,” James stated.

“Education and proper stimulation at an early age would provide that strong foundation that is so necessary to give a head start to our young children,” Minister of Education Girlyn Miguel said as she addressed the participants at the closing ceremony.

Miguel also highlighted that the project is part of Government’s commitment to provide quality education to preschool children. She also highlighted that already two primary schools have preschools amalgamated to them, which will improve the quality of learning to ensure that children have access to an integrated education curriculum.

The training took place in eight zones, ranging from the north windward village of Fancy to the Leeward coast, and also in the Grenadines. A representative from each of the pre-schools participated in the training programme.

The closing ceremony was held at the Red Cross Headquarters in Kingstown last Thursday, October 11.