Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A two-day national conference on pre-primary education and childcare was held here on Monday at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and all the stake-holders agreed they should work together with a pro-active approach for early childhood development.

While inaugurating the conference, Education Minister Baligur Rehman announced that the government would attach a high priority to child welfare, hoping that the conference’s recommendations would help in preparing a road-map for ensuring a better future of the new generation.

The conference was jointly organised by the Early Childhood Development Network of Pakistan (ECDNP), the Education Ministry, AIOU some relevant NGOs.

The university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Siddiqui, in his remarks on the occasion said that the AOIU would provide academic and intellectual support to the efforts of promoting and implementing the concept of pre-primary education. “We wish to be the government’s strong partner in this connection,” he added.

The minister also announced that the matters relating to early childhood would be included in the curriculum at various academic levels. The federal government in collaboration with the provinces would take steps for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

He added that the government had initiated a pilot project by the opening of Montessori classes in 11 schools of the capital, which had given an outstanding feedback.

The minister was of the view that nutrition and characterisation of children in early childhood was mandatory before education. The quality of education and ECCE, he said, were mandatory to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). He hoped that the ECCE conference would come out with concrete recommendations for better education in the country. The Vice Chancellor in his speech further said the event was highly significant since it had brought all the stake holders together on one platform to evolve a future road map: taking care of children at an early age.

He said that about 65 per cent women were getting education in the AIOU adding that about one thousand prisoners would also get free education from the university. The AIOU was providing free education to out of school female children, he added

The event was aimed at promoting holistic early childhood care and education for Pakistan and creating an equitable, pluralistic and sustainable society.

The Additional Secretary Education, Imran Ahmad, Joint Educational Adviser, Rafiq Tahir, Prof Dr Manzoor Hussain from Bangladesh, Ms Cristian Lorena Munduate, Deputy Representative UNICEF, Nasruddin Rupani, Chairman Early Childhood Network Development Pakistan, Yasuhiro Tojo Chief Representative of JICA Pakistan, also spoke on the occasion.

They hailed the efforts of the education ministry and its partners for holding this conference on early childhood care and education.