Says both educational, medical facilities be provided to children under six. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Many of the behavioural outcomes in the later lives of human beings can directly be linked to the education, care and development of children during their early years.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the government, evident from the little investment made in the field of early childhood care and health, seems least concerned with the fact.
A Situational Analysis of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) in Vehari, Multan and Muzaffargarh launched by Children Global Network (CGN) Pakistan launched on Wednesday, showed the dismal state of affairs in the districts.
EDUCATION
The study highlights that the constitution, as of now, only recognises the right to education for children aged between five and 16 and not the needs of ECCD, which include physical, social, cognitive, emotional, health and nutrition aspects of their development from birth till six years of age.
While most private schools have ECCD programs in place, public schools, due to the lack of a legal requirement, do not invest in such programmes.
The major cause of concern highlighted in the study is the average enrolment age for preschool — 4.7 years — a strong indicator that urges a need for ECCD. In the meantime, about 10 to 15 per cent of children are expected to drop out before or during first grade.
“The rolling admissions policy in preschools as well as the fact that many children at this level remain unregistered for extended periods of time has resulted in wide differentials in their readiness and learning levels even if they are attending the same class — a reality the public schooling systems fails to cater to,” states the report.
Furthermore the study reveals that very little attention is paid to the special learning needs of a child, and the best teachers are mostly allotted to higher primary grades, with preschool mostly an afterthought.
On the other hand, language is another significant hurdle in early schooling in the public sector. In rural areas, students are usually exposed exclusively to the Siraiki or Punjabi language at home, and then move to schools where teachers attempt to converse with them in Urdu and later English — languages completely alien to them, the report adds.
“The Punjab government’s decision to declare all primary schools in the province English-medium is a far cry for the rural primary
schools in reality,” says the report.
Another challenge highlighted by the report is the gap in the curriculum of pre-school and first grade. To bridge this gap, teachers struggle to cater to the varying learning needs of every individual child, which ends with a huge chunk of the curriculum being overlooked.
HEALTH
Startlingly, more than half of schools lack adequate health facilities and are reliant on uncertified doctors — an act that ultimately puts lives of children at risk.
Some schools even rely on external sources for emergency treatment, while 44 per cent of schools respond to illness by sending children back home.
Furthermore, the study shows that parents only take their children to a doctor when they fall seriously ill, a phenomena pertaining to either a lack of awareness or the financial means for regular check-ups.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The report suggests that the government grant constitutional or policy recognition to the needs of children under five. The policy should address overcrowded classrooms, the woes of parents whose children who travel longer distances to school, and poor facilities.
It must also provide supporting health facilities in or around schools and educate parents about child-health related topics.
Commenting on the report, Federal Minister for Education Baleeghur Rehman said the Ministry of Education has finalised its National Action Plan in which many of the mentioned problems are going to be addressed. He also emphasised the need to enhance linkages between the ministries of Health and Education as effective countermeasures.
“The early years are the most important years for a child. If we don’t provide for the education and nutritional needs of children at an early age, they might have to bear long-term negative effects.”
The Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood, Care and Development at Children Global Network Pakistan, with the support of Open Society Foundations was later inaugurated.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2013.
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