Chief Education Officer, Melina Fontaine, has endorsed music in schools for the holistic development of children.
The Chief Education Officer said that music has been proven to be a valuable part of the school’s curriculum.
She was speaking at the opening of the Primary Schools Music Festival at the Arawak House of Culture last Friday.
“Today there is convincing evidence that music is worthy of recognition as a valuable subject in the school’s curriculum; both as a stand-alone subject as well as a tool for teaching in all subject areas. As a stand-alone subject, it compares favourably with the respective fields of mathematics and science and involves thinking in terms of precision, exactness and quantitative as well as qualitative analysis on a high level of abstract thinking.”
Fontaine affirmed that the Ministry of Education will continue to promote the development of music through curriculum offerings and integration within subject areas.
“This is in an effort to not only teach the practical but also the theory so that our students will be able to read as well as write their own music. In three of our secondary schools students are studying and writing music examinations at CSEC level," she said.