NGO calls for more investment in Early Childhood education
Children Believe, a child-centred non-governmental organisation, has called for more investment in Early Childhood Development (ECD) education to lay a strong foundation for children in the country.
The Country Manager of Children Believe, Mrs Esenam Kavi De Souza, made the call and said with increased investment in infrastructure, teaching and learning materials, as well as the training of teachers, early childhood education would be improved.
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She emphasised the need to build more equitable and inclusive education systems for early childhood education that would accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She said this last Monday at an event to commemorate this year’s International Education Day in Tamale on the theme: “Changing course, transforming education”.
It was organised by Children Believe and attended by some schoolchildren, traditional leaders, civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders.
The International Day of Education, which was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2019, is commemorated on January 24 every year to highlight issues affecting the education sector for governments to take action.
Unlock potential
Mrs De Souza pointed out that to progress as a country, there was the need to support teachers and unlock the potential in every person to contribute to national development.
“The importance of early learning is highlighted by Sustainable Development Goal Four which seeks to ensure that by 2030 “all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education,” she said.
Early learning (including pre-primary education) is, therefore, as an essential vehicle for achieving universal primary education,” she noted.
Motivation
The Northern Regional Director of Education, Dr Peter Attafuah, who spoke on the topic: “Teachers’ role in the implementation of ECD; Challenges and opportunities,” called for incentive packages to motivate trained ECD teachers.
He said pre-school and kindergarten teachers should be one of the highest paid workers because teaching at that level required more commitment, patience and skills.
“Most often teachers at that level are not respected because they are believed not to be intelligent; the wrong perception about early childhood education is really affecting them,” he said.
For her part, the Country Representative of UNICEF, Madam Anne-Claire Dufay, called on the government and various partners to focus more on addressing the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs of schoolchildren, especially girls.
Various partners, including World Vision, Right To Play, ActionAid and Lively Minds, expressed their commitment to support efforts to improve the education sector.