Providing the world’s youngest with the best possible foundation to help them reach their potential – and to safeguard the future of every society – was the theme at the annual World Congress on Early Childhood Development (ECD), held in Durban last month.
The 750 delegates from 34 countries that are members of the world body for ECD gathered to share both positive experiences of ECD models and bleak pictures of obstacles facing them in their work.
Peter Ebigbo from Nigeria highlighted some of the drastic conditions that prevent children up to the age of six years from getting essential care on the African continent.
Armed conflict, inter-ethnic clashes, refugee problems, child trafficking and child labour were identified by Ebigdo as major barriers to early childhood growth and development.
He said poverty and the Aids pandemic were largely responsible for child labour – 21% of Africa’s children work – and millions were deprived of early learning and developmental opportunities as a consequence of Aids.
‘Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 90% of the Aids orphans in the world and there are likely to be 40-million African children orphaned by Aids over the next decade,” said Ebigbo.
But experiences in other parts of the developing world, like Latin America, show that where there is commitment from communities and governments alike, major strides can be made despite few resources.
Maria Victoria Peralta, the national coordinator of ECD in the Chilean Ministry of Education, outlined a long history of early childhood education in her country, which has seen the development of specialised educational institutions, trained teachers and the introduction of special laws and official programmes for children younger than six.
The situation in South Africa was not as positive. Leonard Saul, CEO of the South African Congress for ECD, expressed concern about ‘the lack of political will from the government in terms of a dedicated budget for ECD. We believe that, without access to resources, children will increasingly be exposed to impoverished circumstances which will have a resultant impact on their motor and intellectual stimulation.”
His views were echoed by South African academic Jonathan Janssen, who said ‘budgets and plans do not match the rhetoric of investment in young children”.
Josie Yende-Mthethwa of the South African Qualifications Authority said there were many challenges still confronting the ECD sector. ‘In particular, setting standards to professionalise practitioners and other key role players is of primary concern to ensure quality learning environments for children,” he said, adding that Grade R classes are helping by bringing children into the formal schooling sector a year earlier.
‘There is no policy or legislation in South Africa that guides the provision of ECD from birth to five years. In contrast, in France it is compulsory for [this age group of] children to be within an ECD environment,” said Saul.
In some countries debates continue about what type of programmes most benefit children. Sweden’s Annette Sandberg and Ingrid Samuelsson argued that early childhood education needs to be about the world of play.
‘The United Nations Convention on the rights of the child enacted that every child has the right to play. Play is viewed as important for young children, globally as well as nationally,” emphasised the Swedish educationists.
This point was also made by Fred Ebbeck, of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia. With the information age upon us, ‘it is little wonder that parents in some societies want their children to be computer literate at age three and go to kindergarten to achieve ‘real’ learning and not to ‘play’,” said Ebbeck.
But, he warned, ‘the downward push of formal schooling systems to children of a younger age does not necessarily achieve anything of value. In fact, it could create failures at age three.”
The conference concluded with ambitious resolutions. They include commitments to combat all forms of child abuse, including the genital mutilation of the girl child; to influence governments to include children with special needs in all educational programmes; to work for the holistic development of the young child; and for the ECD sector to forge sustainable partnerships with government and civil society.
The optimism expressed by the Deputy Minister of Education Mosibudi Mangena may help to inspire those in the ECD sector to translate these plans into reality ahead of next year’s world indaba in Turkey. Said Mangena, ‘Through partnership and commitment, everything is possible”.