Readiness for Early Childhood Education Before and Beyond 2015 Presented By Zahra Moulvi On Behalf of Amima Sayeed March 12, 2013 Paper presented at 57 th CIES Conference through the support of the Education Support Program of the Open Society Foundations.

Presentation Overview Data Trends – Access & Learning Readiness Levels for ECE Policies & Experience Action & Implementation

Children not attending any pre- school 3 to 5 yrs ASER 2012 – National (Rural) Enrollment of children of 3 – 5 years 37% in 2012 Enrollment highest in Urban 55% compared to Rural 37%

RTE Calling: 5yrs Old in School Note on Data: Figures are based on ASER 2012 Survey of 4,033 villages in 80,209 households across Pakistan. A total number of 57,503 children (47% girls, 53% boys) were found in 3-5yrs age group.

Provincial Trends ASER 2012 – National (Rural)

Readiness for School? Note on Sample: Baseline SRA on 455 students (41% boys, 49% girls) in 4 districts of KPK – ECCE Project, Save the Children 2012

Are Schools Ready? Teachers Appointment & allocation New positions not created Overall budget provision for ECCE in school allocation, but no specific budget line Attitude, interest, physical stamina & attributes Content knowledge and pedagogy– learning, child development domains/ stages, active learning strategies Pre-service: until recently TE was based on rote learning without specific ECE focus, leakages in evaluation frameworks. New 2yr programmes designed yet to be rolled out In-service: no framework for ECE, entirely through small-scale funded-projects. Teachers who are trained are often not regular teachers, mostly para-teachers from projects

Are Schools Ready? Spaces Physical safety & security Learning environment Learning engagements Operations Budget Supervision Parental involvement & support Learning resources

Developmentally Inappropriate Practices: Out of the frying pan, into the fire Out of School Children Trapped if born into illiteracy, disinformation and poverty No exposure to tools leading to critical thinking Societal trend of disrespecting child’s views and independence Economic pressures, forced and hazardous labour Family disharmony, experience of abuse In –school Children Hazardous physical environment Instruction not interaction or engagement If at all, unaware and ill- equipped teachers Labeling, profiling, bullying – set up for early failure Damning emphasis on writing & discipline! Monolithic systems Kills the innate creative potential and diversity

ECE in Pakistan: What we have… National Curriculum aligned with the developmental domains Contextualized, consultative and research based Frameworks for classroom implementation in rural and urban areas for ECE Specific policies for ECE introduction, budgetary provisions and plans across Pakistan Balochistan Sector Plan Punjab ECE Strategy Social Protection & RTE Bill in KPK & Sindh A fantastic mix of technical and grassroots expertise for Teacher Education, follow-up and support

ECE Implementation Framework Early Childhood Education Philosophy and Goals Supportive School Environment Competent Teacher Parental Involvement in Learning Supportive Policy Environments

ECE: What is promised (NEP 2009 & RTE) Recognition and strengthening of Katchi class as part of formal system and opening of Kachi/ECE classes in the public sector At least one year pre-primary education shall be provided by the State and universal access to ECE shall be ensured within the next ten years. Provision of financial and food support to children who drop out because of poverty at ECE Two year pre-service training to ECE teachers based on NCECE

Marching towards 2015: What we need to do Pay heed to research & start implementing policies! Move from ECE to ECCE! (0-8 years) End the randomness – use of terms, introduction of textbooks, lesson plans, formulas, investment of & on resources Build capacities & spaces – thinking & planning, teachers, schools, community learning centres Connect – research & policy, school & community, numeracy/literacy with cognition & development

Finally, Bring the Child back to the Centre!