Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) is not just about child development. It is also about the development of the country. This is one of the core messages that are being conveyed as Bhutan marks the first-ever National ECCD Week.
Child specialists are drawing attention to the importance of ECCD programmes in delivering Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They assert that achievement of Sustainable Development Goals such as poverty reduction, nutrition, quality education, peace and justice among others require effective partnership across early childhood sectors.
Professor Frank Oberalaid, from the University of Melbourne in Australia shares that research has shown that the development that happens in the early years has life-long consequences.
“The foundation that is laid down in the early years through good parenting and ECCD centres has life-long consequences. And many of the SDGs whether it is poverty, health for a dozen of SDGs, those early years of a child’s life are critical,” he said.
“Setting the child off to a sound foundation understanding that the brain development in early years has life-long consequences is very important not just to the child but to the future prosperity of a country,” he added.
The Programme Coordinator of the ECCD & SEN Division with the Ministry of Education, Karma Gayleg, said the emphasis is not just on education because the nature of child’s development is cross-cutting and all encompassing.
“We are also addressing children learning about environment conservation and climate change, health, nutrition and sanitation, reduction of violence, peace and justice. So, children are learning all these skills and attitudes and therefore early childhood care and development is pertinent to all other goals”
Bhutan has made tremendous progress in terms of providing access to early child care and developmental programmes in the recent decade. There are seven thousand children between the age group of three to five in three hundred ECCD centres spread across the today.
The ECCD and SEN division under the education ministry is expecting to see at least one ECCD centre established for every chiwog in the next seven years.
The ECCD week, jointly organized by education ministry and UNICEF Bhutan, is bringing together stakeholders to raise awareness and share and discuss good practices surrounding ECCD.
The activities for the week include presentations, workshops and exhibitions at the Harmony Youth Center until Friday.
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