"I have no doubt that we can in fact do this, and when we do, Trinidad and Tobago will be the first country in the world to achieve Universal Early Childhood CARE Education," she said.
"We are on our way to making world history with this groundbreaking policy via a unique, innovative method of public sector and private sector partnership with nurseries and kindergartens that are willing to team up with the Ministry of Education, which will improve their facilities and staff," she added.
Persad-Bissessar noted that 11 other centres are going to be built in the short term with at least five more to be opened before the end of May.
She said the event was significant because of the fact that the centre is located in a rural community. But it has other significance, she said.
"While we measure our immediate progress by the number of roads we build or jobs we create, nothing is more important to our continued success as a nation and for the future than the investment in the education of our children and the future generations."
She aid international research shows that investing in early childhood development and education "yields high economic returns, is the most cost-effective strategy to break the inter-generational transmission of poverty, and improves productivity and social cohesion of a country in the long run."
She made reference to a world bank study that revealed that prenatal care and the quality of life experienced in the early years from birth to the first six years of a child’s life affect physical and brain development of children, and lay the foundation for cognitive and socio-emotional development in subsequent stages of their lives.
"For a developing country like ours, whose aim is to be a progressive developed nation, it is therefore a given that human development can be further advanced in by investing in early childhood development and education.
"Children, after all, are the true legacy and future of our nation and childhood is a critical period of one’s life.
She aid international research shows that investing in early childhood development and education "yields high economic returns, is the most cost-effective strategy to break the inter-generational transmission of poverty, and improves productivity and social cohesion of a country in the long run."
She made reference to a world bank study that revealed that prenatal care and the quality of life experienced in the early years from birth to the first six years of a child’s life affect physical and brain development of children, and lay the foundation for cognitive and socio-emotional development in subsequent stages of their lives.
"For a developing country like ours, whose aim is to be a progressive developed nation, it is therefore a given that human development can be further advanced in by investing in early childhood development and education.
"Children, after all, are the true legacy and future of our nation and childhood is a critical period of one’s life.
"Early childhood experience has a great impact on the development of one’s intelligence, character and social behaviour. If the window of opportunity is missed during early childhood, it would be much costlier and harder to build a successful life later," she said.
Persad-Bissessar said investing in early childhood development and education is perhaps the most cost-effective way to improve the lives of the next generation.
"The international evidence of this is very strong: such investments yield economic returns of 7 to 18 percent, which is much higher than the returns generated by investing in financial capital," she said.
She added, "Investing in early childhood care and education yields the highest economic returns and can break the cycle of poverty...
"My Government’s goal to develop a harmonious society and to improve the competitiveness of its future workforce in order to move towards a high-income, developed society.
"This Government places great significance on early childhood development and education because this is the foundation of life. We consider it to be indispensible to alleviate poverty, to improve human resource development, and to sustain Trinidad and Tobago’s future competitiveness and success as a nation."
"This Government places great significance on early childhood development and education because this is the foundation of life. We consider it to be indispensible to alleviate poverty, to improve human resource development, and to sustain Trinidad and Tobago’s future competitiveness and success as a nation."
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