The foundations of learning are built from the moment of birth. Could early childhood education be a key ingredient for closing the gaps that threaten global educational growth?
UNICEF, alongside the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council, and the Department of Education (DepED) has launched a program to support early childhood education in disadvantaged areas throughout the Philippines.
Projected to reach 150,000 children ages 3 to 5 years old, “Early Learning for Life” will see to the construction of at least 100 schools and daycare centers in 36 of the most conflict-ridden, urbanized, and disaster-prone areas. The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) has allocated $18 million (P730 million) in order to fund the program.
Around 2,500 kindergarten teachers and daycare workers will attend intensive training courses focusing on early childhood care and development, provision of learning materials and clean water services, and improvement of education policies and systems.
In addition, the program will support Supervised Neighborhood Play (SNP), an alternative learning mode to ECCD that includes outdoor community play for children with no access to daycare centers.
DSWD Secretary, Dinky Soliman, explains that the program supplements local and national government work with connections to state projects such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program. “This is not a dole-out but a wise investment that consequently translates to the strengthened platform for poverty reduction and economic growth,” she said.
Tornoo Hozumi, the UNICEF Philippines representative, notes, “We should continue to build on the work of the government and understand the many challenges that keep children from getting the right start to learning.”
He adds, “If we are able to address the challenges facing children who are most deprived, we will be in a better position to ensure their growth and success.”
Creative Commons Love: Steven Depolo on Flickr
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