Senate approves Early Childhood Commission Bill
The Senate on Friday approved the Early Childhood Commission Bill after a heated discussion about whether the jurisdiction of the proposed commission extended to cover children’s homes.
The measure, piloted by Noel Monteith, state minister for education, seeks to establish a legal and regulatory framework to govern the island’s more than 2,000 basic/infant schools and day care facilities.
Monteith said that the Early Childhood Commission would co-ordinate and oversee early childhood development, thus preventing fragmentation and duplication of responsibilities now stretched across several ministries and departments.
But Opposition senator, Bruce Golding, criticised the measure for focussing only on early childhood educational institutions and not being inclusive of children’s homes where, he argued, children are sometimes subject to abuse and ill-treatment.
Golding was particularly concerned about boys homes where, he said, instances of abuse could take place.
“How is this commission going to monitor a private boys home?” asked Golding. “The Bill as it is now is quite ineffective,” he said, adding that the “statute does not give the commission any power to intervene (in a boys home).”
He suggested at one stage of the debate that the bill be suspended to allow legal draughtsmen to address the deficiency.
However, acting leader of government business, A J Nicholson, insisted that the measure would not be suspended and suggested that the problem could be addressed by making an amendment, reflecting a provision in the Education Act.
Monteith added that the proposed Early Childhood Act, an intended companion bill to the Early Childhood Commission Bill, would give the state authority to intervene in privately-run children’s homes.
But with neither of the two referenced bills before the Upper House, and with Government members unable to find an answer from rustling through the law books in the chamber, Golding and his Opposition colleagues pressed their case.
It was left to Government senator, Professor Trevor Munroe, to propose a suitable amendment to the contentious clause 4 1(h), which will effectively give the commission jurisdiction over children’s homes.
Another amendment was also made to the Bill based on the joint initiative of Opposition senator Dorothy Lightbourne and Nicholson. This amendment broadens the professional fields from which the governor- general may choose members of the Early Childhood Commission. These include child care, child psychology, nutrition, paediatrics and nursing.
The Upper House also amended the measure to make the accompanying regulations subject to the approval of Parliament.
Government’s decision to establish an Early Childhood Commission comes against the background of unsafe and unsanitary conditions of many early childhood/day care facilities that came to public attention in the past.
Monteith admitted on Friday that the Government’s target to expose all basic school teachers to college training was behind, but he disclosed that 217 college-trained teachers were in the early childhood system at the end of 2002.