Government has signed 22 contracts with ten institutions approved to become brain builder centres.

Education Minister Ruel Reid, made the announcement earlier today (Oct 26) in the Senate.

The brain builder initiative, is aimed at ensuring the best start to life for children, over the first one thousand days, mainly through formal early stimulation activities, for the zero to three age cohort.

The programme will facilitate enhanced day care services, free of cost to parents, at infant department in existing primary schools, as well as in privately-run infant schools.

Mr Reid said, government will support the early childhood institutions with staff salary, among other things.

He said government has allocated $520 mi for the programme.

Meantime, Reid announced that to date, 33 primary schools have been identified for the establishment of infant departments.

He also gave an update on the process to have early childhood institutions registered and certified.

He said more than 2,000 permits, have so far been issued to early childhood institutions.

The Education Minister added, that many practitioners are benefiting from training programmes hosted by the Early Childhood Commission.

Mr. Reid said of the 33 infant departments in primary schools, only 3 remain to complete set up.