Scale up early childhood education in rural areas

Editor, I am a strong advocate of early childhood education and believe that every child in Rwanda deserves an early start. Kudos to the Government of Rwanda, IKEA Foundation, Unicef, Save the Children and other child protection agencies working in this domain in Rwanda. This funding should address issues of equity in ECD (Early Childhood Development). A small survey will show that most well equipped ECD is in urban communities, so investing in rural based ECD will go a long way in ensuring all children despite their geographic location are reached. I am of the opinion that stakeholders need to revisit the integrated ECD policy and strategy developed in partnership with the Government of Rwanda in 2010. Although an integrated approach depicts commitment to the holistic nature of child development, we are likely to underestimate the importance of a well coordinated response to ECD. So strengthening existing coordination mechanism could be an area to invest in. My other suggestion is to review the ECD strategy and set up concrete actions that reflect commitment to equity and set up minimum standards for ECD facilities. Lastly, there are very few ECD professionals in our ECD centres. Invest in ECD teachers by providing scholarships (if IKEA Foundation allows) for ECD degrees at the College of Education or abroad. Daoud Reaction is made to the story, “Rwanda receives US$5.5 million from IKEA to boost children’s welfare” (The New Times, November 19)

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Scale up early childhood education in rural areas