Staff shortage hits special needs diagnostic centres

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon has highlighted a critical staffing shortage plaguing special needs diagnostic centres in the education sector, noting that a lack of qualified professionals persists even as the Government expands facilities to meet growing demand.

“You can’t have a diagnostic centre and have no staff, and that is one of the big challenges that we face. We’re diagnosing more, and we still have to do a lot more work because there’s a long waitlist for our children who need to be assessed, and we just don’t have enough people in Jamaica,” argued Morris Dixon as she addressed a ground-breaking ceremony for the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive High School in Westmoreland last Thursday.

To combat the shortage, the Ministry of Education has implemented targeted scholarships in educational and clinical psychology for teachers wishing to specialise in these areas. However, the initiative has met an unexpected roadblock: the take-up is low.