More

    A Fair Start is What Every Child Needs, Says Joint UNESCO-UNICEF Report

    ChildrenChild RightsA Fair Start is What Every Child Needs, Says...
    - Advertisment -

    A Fair Start is What Every Child Needs, Says Joint UNESCO-UNICEF Report

    Pre-primary education gives children a solid foundation upon which all learning depends, making every stage of education that follows more efficient and productive, says a joint report of the UNESCO and UNICEF.

    By Gursimran Kaur

    The world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 and ensure inclusive and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, says a joint report from UNESCO and UNICEF.

    In the report with titled ‘Global report on early childhood care and education: the right to a strong foundation’, the two UN bodies says that “education, starting with early childhood education, is facing twin crises of equity and relevance.”

    Saying that inequalities start early, particularly affecting development outcomes for the most disadvantaged children, the report says, “children growing up in the poorest households and in rural areas are further behind. Only 55 per cent of children aged 36 to 59 months growing up in the poorest households are developmentally on track, compared to 78 per cent of children in the richest households.”

    It says that “supporting readiness for foundational learning must be an essential part of the response to the learning crisis.” Alluding to the changing of gears due to the COVID-19 pandemic that aggravated the global learning crisis, the reports says that an estimated 37 per cent of the world’s children (more than 300 million) will not reach minimum proficiency levels in reading by 2030.

    - Advertisement -

    “Access to quality early learning and care is a key way to help children develop the skills needed for foundational learning and to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education by 2030,” says the UNESCO-UNICEF report.

    “Real progress on supporting equitable access to quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) remains elusive,” it says, adding that “commitments have not translated into action and at the current rate of progress, achieving SDG Target 4.2 by 2030 is off track,” it says.

    The report by the two UN bodies says that extending the right to education to include the right to early childhood care and education could accelerate progress on SDG Target 4.2. However, it says, there is not yet an international legal framework that explicitly guarantees children’s right to early childhood care and education. Extending the right to education to include the right to ECCE could be an important policy lever to accelerate progress SDG Target 4.2

    Leveraging key actors

    Looking through the lens of the child at the core and adopting a whole-of-child developmental approach, the report explores how children learn and develop and how the key actors in children’s early environments – parents, families, educators and the community at large – can be leveraged through public policies and programmes to improve children’s learning and wellbeing. The report advocates for and gives evidence of the importance of ECCE to address the twin crisis of equity and relevance and support foundational learning.

    Saying that early literacy activities promote school readiness and higher reading achievement, the report speaks of new analysis that reveal that children who engage more frequently in early literacy activities at home tend to be equipped with better literacy skills. These children were also better prepared for primary school, and more likely to show higher reading achievement at age 10.

    Another new analysis showed that participation in organised learning one year before the official age of entry to primary school positively affected reading achievement in the second or third grades. It emphasises that the early years are important for building foundational numeracy skills and caregivers can influence children’s attitudes to maths learning.

    “Maths learning arises from complex interactions between emerging cognitive skills and the social-cultural context,” it says, adding, “caregivers and educators can help build positive attitudes and improve children’s learning by creating a supportive environment that encourages numeracy activities and diminishes anxiety around maths.”

    - Advertisement -

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    Latest news

    War, huh, Yeah, What is it Good For?

    One should, nevertheless, keep in mind that war is horrific. It is most often not the answer. When it is, it is always the very last resort after all other means to resolve adverse situations have been well and truly exhausted.

    World Bank Unveils $1 Billion Package to Spur Jobs and Private Sector Growth in Sri Lanka

    Tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s key economic drivers, is set to receive $200 million. These funds will be used to protect and enhance natural and cultural heritage sites, create employment opportunities, and ensure local communities benefit directly from tourism revenues.

    UN Secretary-General Urges Military restraint from India, Pakistan

    He offered his good offices to both governments to help defuse tensions and promote diplomacy, stressing that “a military solution is no solution.”

    India Showcases SVAMITVA at World Bank Land Conference

    India’s interventions across these sessions aim to serve as a call to action for other nations striving to achieve SDG Target 1.4.2 which aims to ensure legal ownership and control over land for all, especially vulnerable communities.
    - Advertisement -

    WHO Warns of Deepening Health Crisis in Afghanistan as Aid Dwindles

    The decline in support follows the suspension of US assistance, which previously accounted for nearly half of the international funding directed toward Afghanistan’s healthcare.

    Clean Ganga Mission Approves Key Projects for Ganga Rejuvenation via Ecosystem Testoration

    Conservation of critical wetlands and promoting the reuse of treated wastewater through city specific reuse plans and were deliberated in the meeting.

    Must read

    War, huh, Yeah, What is it Good For?

    One should, nevertheless, keep in mind that war is horrific. It is most often not the answer. When it is, it is always the very last resort after all other means to resolve adverse situations have been well and truly exhausted.

    World Bank Unveils $1 Billion Package to Spur Jobs and Private Sector Growth in Sri Lanka

    Tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s key economic drivers, is set to receive $200 million. These funds will be used to protect and enhance natural and cultural heritage sites, create employment opportunities, and ensure local communities benefit directly from tourism revenues.
    - Advertisement -

    More from the sectionRELATED
    Recommended to you