The Ministry of Education’s move to revise the nursery entry age of children; is likely to see close to 3,000 more children being able to enter the school system this year.? Previously a child had to be three years old by March 31 in order to enter Nursery School in September of the same year. However,Wholesale Stitched Jerseys, with the revised undertaking by the Ministry, children will from this year, be able to enter the Nursery level in September even if they would have turned three in June.Minister of Education, Priya ManickchandBut although attending Nursery School here is not compulsory,Cheap NFL Jerseys, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand,Cheap Jerseys Online, informed that there is a high percentage of “our nursery age cohorts in Nursery School…That is more than 85 per cent of our children who can attend nursery are in Nursery (School) and we expect that will raise a little.”In fact, Minister Manickchand speculated that “we probably have the highest percentage in the Commonwealth Caribbean regarding the number of children we have enrolled in schools and we are envied throughout the Region for our early childhood education.” Nevertheless, she insisted that “we will be unhappy with nothing more than perfection.”The Minister’s remarks were forthcoming as she deliberated at her end of year press conference, Monday last, which was venued at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown.At that forum she disclosed that as part of efforts to do even better, the Ministry last year conducted a study which was aimed at ascertaining what children know when they enter into the Nursery Programme, as oppose to what the literature say they should know.The findings of the study according to the Minister will be published shortly along with a massive advertisement campaign. The campaign, she explained, will be strategically designed to inform parents of what their children should know; how it is that parents and guardians can teach those children these things using the materials they have at home prior to them entering the formal education system. “We hope not to impose on parents the additional burden of trying to acquire materials that will cost them (so) that is something that we are presently working on and we hope to introduce,” said Manickchand.In the fervent quest to improve education delivery, the Minister disclosed that the Ministry had last year wrote what she described as “an incredible series”? – Roraima Readers, which will be launched shortly. The venture was piloted in September 2013 as an entire new series of books and work materials to use in the country’s nursery schools. These,NFL Jerseys Outlet, according to Manickchand, include: readers,Wholesale China Jerseys, workbooks, writing books, writing skills workbooks, flashcards, charts and assessments that were created by persons within the Ministry. “The reviews have been excellent and have led us to believe that the product is excellent…we are constantly reviewing but given what we have learnt so far, we believe that this is something which, with minor adjustments, we will be able to introduce in 2014 September all across the country’s nursery system,” said the Education Minister.She is optimistic that the official introduction of the series would in fact “save us the trouble of having to purchase textbooks that are not ours at incredible cost.”The past year also saw the Ministry conducting another study in the primary sector – Grades One through Six – in an attempt to assess what children in those Grades know as far as the literacy standards are concerned. And according to Minister Manickchand, at the moment the Education Sector is in conformity with international literacy standards. “We created tests across the Grades and administered those tests across the country to determine where it is our children are regarding meeting the international literacy standards,” she disclosed.“I believe this is one of the first studies that have been done in the country that addresses the issue of literacy frontally and frankly…” said the Minister as she informed that the findings will be published in the near future. The findings, she noted, are currently being processed with a view of having it published. And according to the Minister,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, the Ministry is using the results that are obtained in the sector, as a critical measure of its progression.She pointed out though that “while we know that results are not the only indicator, we certainly cannot discount results as an indicator…we are doing the best that we have ever done as a country,” she confidently asserted.