Readiness for Early Childhood EducationBefore and Beyond 2015

Presented By Zahra MoulviOn Behalf of

Amima SayeedMarch 12, 2013

Paper presented at 57th CIES Conference through the support of the Education Support Program of the Open Society Foundations.

Presentation Overview Data Trends – Access & Learning Readiness Levels for ECE Policies & Experience Action & Implementation

Children not attending any pre-school 3 to 5 yrs

ASER 2012 – National (Rural)

• Enrollment of children of 3 – 5 years 37% in 2012

• Enrollment highest in Urban 55% compared to Rural 37%

RTE Calling: 5yrs Old in School

Note on Data: Figures are based on ASER 2012 Survey of 4,033 villages in 80,209 households across Pakistan. A total number of 57,503 children (47% girls, 53% boys) were found in 3-5yrs age group.

Provincial Trends

ASER 2012 – National (Rural)

Readiness for School?

Note on Sample: Baseline SRA on 455 students (41% boys, 49% girls) in 4 districts of KPK – ECCE Project, Save the Children 2012

Are Schools Ready? Teachers

Appointment & allocation• New positions not created • Overall budget provision for ECCE in school allocation,

but no specific budget line Attitude, interest, physical stamina & attributes Content knowledge and pedagogy– learning, child

development domains/ stages, active learning strategies

Pre-service: until recently TE was based on rote learning without specific ECE focus, leakages in evaluation frameworks.

• New 2yr programmes designed yet to be rolled out In-service: no framework for ECE, entirely through

small-scale funded-projects. • Teachers who are trained are often not regular

teachers , mostly para-teachers from projects

Are Schools Ready? Spaces

Physical safety & securityLearning environment Learning engagements

Operations BudgetSupervision Parental involvement & support Learning resources

Developmentally Inappropriate Practices: Out of the frying pan, into the fire

Out of School Children Trapped if born into

illiteracy, disinformation and poverty No exposure to tools

leading to critical thinking Societal trend of

disrespecting child’s views and independence

Economic pressures, forced and hazardous labour

Family disharmony, experience of abuse

In –school Children Hazardous physical

environment Instruction not interaction

or engagement If at all, unaware and ill-

equipped teachers Labeling, profiling,

bullying – set up for early failure

Damning emphasis on writing & discipline!

Monolithic systems Kills the innate creative

potential and diversity

ECE in Pakistan: What we have…

National Curriculum aligned with the developmental domains Contextualized, consultative and research based

Frameworks for classroom implementation in rural and urban areas for ECE

Specific policies for ECE introduction, budgetary provisions and plans across Pakistan Balochistan Sector Plan Punjab ECE Strategy Social Protection & RTE Bill in KPK & Sindh

A fantastic mix of technical and grassroots expertise for Teacher Education, follow-up and support

ECE Implementation Framework

Early Childhood Education Philosophy and Goals

Supportive School

Environment

Competent Teacher

Parental Involvement in

Learning

Supportive Policy Environments

ECE: What is promised (NEP 2009 & RTE)

Recognition and strengthening of Katchi class as part of formal system and opening of Kachi/ECE classes in the public sector

At least one year pre-primary education shall be provided by the State and universal access to ECE shall be ensured within the next ten years.

Provision of financial and food support to children who drop out because of poverty at ECE

Two year pre-service training to ECE teachers based on NCECE

Marching towards 2015: What we need to do Pay heed to research & start implementing

policies! Move from ECE to ECCE! (0-8 years) End the randomness – use of terms,

introduction of textbooks, lesson plans, formulas, investment of & on resources

Build capacities & spaces – thinking & planning, teachers, schools, community learning centres

Connect – research & policy, school & community, numeracy/literacy with cognition & development

Finally, Bring the Child back to the Centre!