Government lawyers were on Thursday granted another extension in the constitutional case brought by Opposition Spokesman on Education, Damion Crawford.
It’s the second extension since the claim was filed in the Supreme Court on April 13.
In the fixed date claim, Crawford argues that despite provisions made under the revised Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, the number of public pre-primary institutions has not kept pace with demand.
He says the State has been infringing the rights of Jamaican children by failing to ensure that there are sufficient public educational institutions to accommodate them at the pre-primary and primary levels.
Crawford told the House of Representatives during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate on April 28 that he’s personally aware of a significant shortage of educational spaces within his own North West St. Catherine constituency.
He’s relying on Section 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees every Jamaican child the right to publicly funded tuition at a public educational institution at the pre-primary level.
Crawford is seeking declarations from the court that children’s constitutional rights have been breached, are being breached, are likely to continue to be breached and, further, that the breach is not justifiable.
He is also asking for costs and any additional relief the court deems appropriate.
The parties are due back in court in November.
