JKF BEYOND 2014 ; Ekiti Early Child School: Key To Realising Kids’ Potentials By Dimeji Daniels When the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child held its first Day of General Discussions on 17 September, 2004, its 13th recommendation states that: “The Convention requires States, parties to render appropriate assistance to parents, legal guardians and extended families in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities, inter alia, by providing parenting education. States parties also should ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children and to take all appropriate measures to ensure that children of working parents have the right to benefit from child-care services, maternity protection and facilities for which they are eligible”. Besides being a member nation which is expected to key into this recommendation, it is only proper for Nigeria to implement it fully since it would give parents respite in raising their children, giving nursing mothers the opportunity to work and also helping to protect the rights of these little children – rights that are often overlooked in a clime such as ours. For instance, the National Child Policy dictates that there should be a workplace crèche, but government’s inability to enforce this policy has continued to make it difficult for nursing mothers to cope at work and in few cases where crèches are provided, there are hardly any child care facilities in these so-called crèches, thus defeating the purpose for which they are established. Sometimes, even the right of nursing mothers to breast-feed at work, as recognized and protected by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), is trampled upon by some irate bosses, in most instances male bosses. Instances such as these were what necessitated the establishment of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, a body comprising independent experts with professional backgrounds in areas such as human rights, juvenile justice, health care, social work, international law and journalism from ratifying countries. One important area, which has been largely overlooked in a country like Nigeria, which the committee concerns itself with is organised early child development. Early childhood development, according to UNESCO, is “defined as the period from birth to eight years old. A time of remarkable brain growth, these years lay the foundation for subsequent learning and development”. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is more explicit about what stares us in the face in this regard: “Early childhood is the most important phase for overall development throughout the lifespan. Brain and biological development during the first years of life is highly influenced by an infant’s environment. Early experiences determine health, education and economic participation for the rest of life. Every year, more than 200 million children under five years old fail to reach their full cognitive and social potential, most of these 200 million children are in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa”. This, for any serious government, should be scary enough to engender action. Cognizant of the dire consequences of lack of action, UNESCO has continued to galvanize member states to implement the ‘Moscow Framework for Action and Co-operation: Harnessing the Wealth of Nations’ – its policy for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), but in spite of this, there are several noticeable slacks. In Nigeria, one cannot deny the abundance of crèches, daycare centres, kindergarten and nursery schools…Mostly run by individuals and bodies other than government, the sight at most of these places is nothing short of appalling. This is where the intervention of government is needed, not just as a regulatory factor, but as a direct stakeholder and investor. The Ekiti State Government is already towing this path with the establishment of highly affordable Early Child Schools in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital; Ikere, Ekiti South; and Ikole, Ekiti North as pilot. This, according to the Secretary of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Mr. Bunmi Awotiku, will be extended to all the local governments in the state. That of Ado-Ekiti is completed and already calling on parents to come register their kids, while those of Ikere and Ikole are at an advanced stage. The ingenious thing is that the school is sited close to the State Secretariat, thus saving working nursing mothers the stress of having to first take their kids to the crèche before coming to work. Now, all they need do is work over to the early child school, hand over the kids to their caregivers and then saunter back to work. As prescribed by UNICEF, the Ekiti State Early Child School is equipped with all the facilities which will help in stimulating the minds of the children. It features an indoor playgroud with astro-turf, protected on all sides by the building and a veranda from where the caregivers can keep an eye on the kids. This particular playground, with all sorts of toys, is for age three and below. There is another outdoor playground, also laid with atro-turf and several child care facilities, meant for age three and above. Besides these, there is a sick bay, children’s cafe, classrooms for the different ages. And to cap it all, there are school and classoom rules, an innovation that I believe will expose these little kids to orderliness and discipline from these tender ages. According to the United Nations Committtee on Rights of the Child, “play is one of the main ways in which young children learn and develop cognitive and motor skills. It also provides children with opportunities to form social relationships and learn how to interact with and treat others”. With all the facilities available at the Ekiti State Early Child School and competence of the staff (witnessed first-hand during my visit to the school), no doubt Ekiti kids are set on the path of greater greatness and uninhibited realisation of all their social and cognitive potentials as research has clearly shown that children gain more from organized early learning experiences, particularly the poorest children. This is the path that all well-meaning State Governments in Nigeria should tow as it will help in re-directing the education sector which at present is precipice-headed. The Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led administration in Ekiti State sure deserves commendation for this.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 04:52:53 +0000
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