Opposition MP Damion Crawford takes gov’t to Constitutional Court over access to education and school spaces

Opposition Spokesman on Education, Damion Crawford, has filed a claim in the Constitutional Court seeking a declaration that the constitutional rights of Jamaican children to publicly funded tuition in public educational institutions at the pre-primary and primary levels have been breached.

Crawford disclosed this during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

In a claim dated April 7, 2026, with the Attorney General named as the defendant, Crawford argued that the rights of Jamaican children are being infringed by the failure of designated state organs to ensure that there are sufficient public educational institutions to accommodate cohorts of children seeking enrolment.

Crawford, who is the Member of Parliament for St Catherine North Western, said he has been advised by his attorneys, “and verily believes”, that the rights guaranteed to citizens under Section 13(3)(k) of the Constitution are being abrogated, abridged, and infringed by the State.

The opposition spokesman has asked the court to declare that neither the manner nor the extent of the abrogation, abridgement, or infringement of these constitutional rights is demonstrably or reasonably justified, given that every child who is a citizen of Jamaica is entitled to publicly funded tuition in a public educational institution at the pre-primary level.

Crawford outlined that, from April 8, 2011, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms guaranteed every Jamaican child the right to publicly funded tuition in public educational institutions at the pre-primary and primary levels.

He argued that since that date, the number of public educational institutions at the pre-primary level has not increased to meet public demand for spaces.

The claimant added that there is a significant shortage of spaces within his own constituency, St Catherine North Western, to accommodate children seeking placement.

- Edmond Campbell

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