Chief Education Officer Calls for Full Support of EDSI

Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Grace McLean, is calling for full support of the Ministry’s Early Detection, Support and Intervention (EDSI) programme in the schools.

Speaking at the launch of the pilot for the programme in 56 Primary and High Schools at the Rui Hotel, in St. Ann, on August 26, Dr. McLean said the project is aimed at identifying issues among students early, get the relevant people to intervene and then ensure that the solutions are workable and sustained.

In an address to Guidance Counsellors, Principals, Deans of Discipline and other stakeholders, Dr. McLean said the Ministry is very confident that this particular approach will work.

“You may not see the results tomorrow, but certainly over a three  to five- year period, we should see the results if we all put our hands and hearts together to implement this programme,” she emphasised.

Dr. McLean said stakeholders in the education sector are now being called on to ensure that there are behavioural changes which will assist students to learn and operate in a conducive environment.

The Chief Education Officer is also appealing to stakeholders, especially teachers, to lead by example in the lives they live…the way they are dressed…the type of music they listen and their overall deportment on and off the school plant.

“The leadership of this programme within your institutions is of paramount importance. We can’t have a Principal who takes a lack lustre approach…when teachers are looking for that support. So, I would like for you (stakeholders) to start looking as you prepare your minds for this programme. I am encouraging you to focus and we are expecting you to guide the rest of the system,” she urged.

The Early Detection, Support and Intervention programme was approved by the Ministry of Education earlier this year, after a proposal was submitted a year ago.

It aims to work with all the on-plant stakeholders as well as draw on the support of inter-Governmental groups in providing support for students who need intervention in all aspects of their personal and educational lives.