Sir Alister wants more attention for region’s disadvantaged kids
SIR Alister McIntyre, vice-chancellor emeritus at the University of the West Indies (UWI), yesterday called for more emphasis to be placed on assisting disadvantaged children in the region.
Sir Alister, who was speaking during the opening of the first ever Caribbean Child Research Conference at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, said child development should be placed at the pinnacle of the national and regional policy agenda. He said, too, that a major job remained to be done in the sphere of poverty alleviation and child development if the momentum in the economy is to be sustained.
“In areas such as early childhood care and protection including education, nutritional health, efforts need to be stepped up both in coverage and intensity to reach disadvantaged children in low income and poor neighbourhoods in both urban and rural areas,” he said.
“These efforts can make a significant difference to the situation of children and young adults. In the case of the latter, action to improve their possibility of employability and to develop their capacity to deal with interpersonal relationships can make a significant dent on levels of crime, violence and abuse,” Sir Alister told the conference.
He added that despite the advances made in areas such as school enrolment, the educational system was sadly deficient at all levels, especially at the early childhood and primary stages.
“Poor pass rates at primary and secondary levels, dysfunctional attitudes, youth crime and violence and a mismatch between job preferences and availability together contribute to the growth of social tensions and are blocking further economic and social advances,” he said.
Under the theme “Promoting Child Rights Through Research”, the Caribbean Child Research Conference, which ends today, would be seeking to disseminate findings of contemporary research in order to improve the awareness of the current situation of children in the Caribbean, as well as encourage further research which would inform on further programming and planning of interventions to benefit children.
Yesterday, Bertran Bainvel, UNICEF representative to Jamaica, in his address at the opening ceremony, called on the region’s political leaders to anchor their vision for national development into a national framework for children informed by data and financed by resources proportionate to its goals.
He also urged the drafting of policies and plans for children, based on “robust data”, quality analysis and best practices from non-governmental organisations.
“With robust data, sound analysis, and doable solutions, we will be able to advocate for improved policies and legislation, and call for greater social investment in children,” the UNICEF representative said.
At the same time, Brandon Allwood, a student at the Kingston College and an advocate for the Jamaica Coalition on the Rights of the Child (JCRC), told the gathering that the youths were an integral part of nation building and should therefore be involved in the process.
“We should be involved in the planning, meetings and discussion because we are not just the future, but we are the now,” he said. “Children think the existence of child rights is a fallacy because they do not feel it at home and they do not feel it at school,” said Allwood.