'Pre-primary education for all is essential'

May 08, 2022

According to the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), support is urgently critical to enable pre-primary curriculum reforms to take place.

About 56 home-based ECD centres according to Joyce Nairuba, have since been established with sustained support from parents and resource persons within the community. (Credit: Jimmy Outa)

Nelson Kiva
Journalist @New Vision

EDUCATION | PRE-PRIMARY | ECD

Educationists have indicated that making pre-primary education affordable and accessible to rural and remote areas will ensure equitable and quality education for all.

They argue the Early Childhood Education (ECD) shouldn’t be a preserve of a few who can afford mostly in urban and semi-semi urban areas as it is the case for now.

According to Stellah Keihangwe Tumwebaze, the executive director at Literacy Promoting Rights (LABE), the growing evidence that early childhood education helps children grasp better should inform decisions aimed at ensuring every child is able to go through the education level.

 “Early years of education are so vital and in fact by the time a child reaches the age of five their brain is already developed.

Imagine a country where all children have access to inclusive quality ECD provisions,” Tumwebaze said.

At a dissemination of a research project dubbed child-to-child learning model implemented jointly by LABE and Kyambogo University to promote peer to peer home learning in Kampala on Friday, Tumwebaze emphasized the need by government to move fast on pre-primary education policy.

On realising the gap in pre-primary education mostly in rural and remote districts, LABE and Kyambogo University through the department of early childhood education are implementing a collaboration on literacy and adult basic education, a home based ECD model.

This, Tumwebaze said is embedded in a 22 months action research on child-to-child approach supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in the districts of Kalungu, Kalaki, Buikwe and Kaliro.

The model she said is designed for 3 to 6-year-old pre-school children from marginilised families who are unable to access formal free-based ECD provided by the private sector.

“Home based ECD is achieved through working with parents to appreciate their role in preparing and supporting their rich language and home literate environment that are essential for later achievement in school,” Tumwebaze said.

About 56 home-based ECD centres according to Joyce Nairuba, the LABE communication officer, have since been established with sustained support from parents and resource persons within the community.

“A number of parents come together and say let us use that home as longer as it meets the criteria that includes being big enough and the owner’s willingness to donate their space for home learning centre activities,” Nairuba said.

The commissioner in charge pre-primary and primary education at the directorate of education standards, Doreen Ankunda said that they are moving a bit slow because of limited resources on clearing ECD centres.

“But wherever we reach we are encouraging local governments to give the ECD centres provisional licenses so that they enter ministry books and then we begin from there to guide for improvement,” Ankunda said.

Hajat Safina Mutumba, the principal education officer in charge of pre-primary education at the ministry, indicated that they have gone an extra-mile with support to pre-primary learning.

The Early Childhood and Care Education (ECCE) policy, Mutumba said has already undergone a number of approval levels including at the top management of the ministry chaired by the education minister to bridge the gaps and streamline pre-primary education.

According to the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), support is urgently critical to enable pre-primary curriculum reforms to take place.

Per Deborah Magera, the mager in charge ECD at NCDC, the review process for the curriculum will soon start to arraign it with the development goals of the country and the latest situations such as COVID-19 and digitalisation. 

Register to begin your journey to our premium content .