[www.inewsguyana.com] – Director of Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), Ann Greene is pushing for the Government of Guyana to subsidise day care services.
According to a release from the Ministry of Social Protection, Greene told an Early Childhood Development (ECD)-sponsored seminar in Georgetown on Wednesday that her agency is pushing local businesses and civil society members to “get involved” in day care so that partial funding is readily available to help develop the sector.
She told participants that if the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) provides financial concessions to firms, many are willing to “get on board” and fund ECD initiatives.
“We will be advocating for that,” Greene assured her audience which packed the fifth floor of the Regency Suites on Hadfield.
According to the release, Greene is pushing for private-sector financial support because recent research findings show that children exposed to ECD escape delinquency in childhood and deviance in later life.
It was noted that the initiative is the first in a series of meetings expected to be rolled out nation-wide under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Protection ECD Unit, Concheeta Gray, Manager of that unit, said.
Gray’s unit wants to ensure that children are enrolled in “developmentally-friendly” day care services, which adhere to the regulated minimum standards.
“Toddlers deserve a similar level of attention (as other groups of human beings) and must be sidelined,” Advisor to Social Protection Minister, and Member of Parliament (MP), John Adams said.
Adams who delivered remarks for Minister Volda Lawrence, emphasised that day care services throughout Guyana’s 83,000 square miles “must be safe, secure (and) infant-friendly”.
This has become even more demanding since more women are employed outside the home and the extended family cannot contend adequately with the emergent challenges.
Ann Greene wants day care services subsidized
So that a certain set of unwed mothers can go party and do up their hair and so on. Whom do you think will benefit most from this? U have to be real sick not to know.