The Curriculum and Material Development Unit (CAMDU) was first opened on September 20, 1976 at Morne Fortune.

It was established to develop and monitor the implementation of curricula across the Education System. The unit provides instructional support to schools in the form of providing curricula; supervising instruction; conducting workshops on developing pedagogical practice; providing instructional support materials; revising existing curricula and developing curricula and programmes. Part of CAMDU’s mandate is also to collaborate with other agencies and departments of the Ministry of Education.

Mrs Muriel Gill was the first Head of CAMDU from 1976 to 1991. During Mrs Gill’s era, CAMDU was the hub of the Education System. In addition to developing Curricula, CAMDU published a number of books created by teachers and was responsible for producing the first Basal Readers for Kindergarten to Grade 6, which included a Reader and two workbooks per grade level. These publications were initially printed at CAMDU and were developed by teachers under the name Caribbean Language Arts Project (CLAP) but were commonly referred to as the CAMDU books. Over time, these books have gone through a number of revisions and the latest editions are K-2(2015) and grades 3- 6(2016). They now come in a set of two books; a student book and a workbook. The publications are now rebranded as “The CAN Do books.”

Many of the academic and arts events and competitions that form part of the schools’ calendar such as the Annual Science and Technology fair, the Schools’ Singing Competition, National Courts Reading Competition and Spelling Bees are planned and coordinated by CAMDU officers. CAMDU also coordinates the observance of Reading Awareness Month in May and Mathematics and Music Month in November.

CAMDU is manned by a staff of 21. There are fourteen curriculum Officers, and 6 ancillary staff supervised by the Education Officer for CAMDU. Curriculum officers are responsible for their respective subject areas across both the primary and secondary schools.