A world-class education can’t neglect the basics. This is the main reason why the ministry of Education has given its approval to an international workshop on early childhood care and education held from 18th to 26th of April. Representatives of the educational sector of Sub-Saharan Africa are in Mauritius to try and make Africa move forward in the inclusion of every young child in education. Participants will introduce their action plan for the two coming years to the minister of Education, Dharam Gokhool, next Thursday morning to take action in the field of early childhood care and education.

“What we need now are strategies for action, for top gear implementation. You will appreciate that I was relieved to hear that one of the cardinal objectives of this workshop is to respond to the recommendations formulated in Education for All Global Monitoring Report of Unesco – ‘Strong Foundations: ECCE’,” declared minister Gokhool when he launched the workshop last Thursday.

Mauritius is actually not in the worst position at Sub-Saharan Africa level with 94% of children between 3 and 5 years old having some sort of early education. “There are about 1,100 public and private pre-school centres throughout the island with about 3,250 teachers. The main problem is not the access to early education but rather the training of teachers,” comments Cyril Dalais, adviser at the ministry of Education and one of the main organisers of this workshop.

The Unesco report in October 2006 helps point out that there is no possibility of succeeding in education without taking the young child into consideration. “In Mauritius, this aspect is actually no real problem. The real issue is to make it a fundamental right,” explains Cyril Dalais.

With this in mind, the participants will take personal commitments to put pressure on their governments to take action and give proper education to the child as from 3 years old. They will all sign a pledge that recognises the rights of all children and make sure that they do everything possible to abide by these rights.

Sometimes, the transition between home and pre-school and between pre-school and primary appears difficult for the child. This is why “a special programme called ‘Bridging the gap’ has been initiated since 2006 to ensure a good start and a smooth transition of the child from pre-primary to primary education (…). We totally subscribe to the universally accepted view that one of the strategies to make this transition possible is a programmatic integration of ECCE with primary schooling. On the other hand, we are also on the verge of launching the corollary to this project which is the transition from home to pre-school,” announced minister Gokhool.

In fact, what is being recommended is the integrated development of the child – as advocated by the Unesco report. The integrated – or holistic – approach means that the child will not only be given any instruction. At pre-primary level, the main objective should not be to teach the child to read, write or calculate. It should only be part of the whole process. “As it is now, the approach is compartmentalised. Pedagogy, health, nutrition and welfare are taken separately. With the holistic approach, teachers should be made to acquire an overall vision of the child”, summarised Dominique, one of the participants.

By making sure that all the aspects such as nutrition, health, welfare, education are all dealt with at the same time for all children and by involving the whole community in the process – especially parents – “chances of succeeding in the development and education of the child will be maximised. Children should learn to learn,” said Cyril Dalais.

Training appears as the cornerstone to achieve such a type of education. Conventional teaching may have to be abandoned for a more modern approach. “Children should be led to take charge of themselves,” comments the ministry’s adviser.

The Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), one of the privileged partners of the ministry in the organisation of the workshop, will be in charge of the implementation of training. It may also be the one that will provide the teacher training. The inter-institutional collaboration between the Mauritius Institute of Education, the ministry and the Mauritius College of the Air as well as other institutions having an interest in the child would be desirable to achieve the objectives.

<I>“The participants in the workshop on early chilhood care are expected to commit themselves to put pressure on their governments to take action.”</I>

Of course, the inclusion of all children should be at the core of the Action Plan. Poverty, physical or mental handicap should not be excuses for children not to have access to early education. This is why associations such as Apeim, for instance, were present at the workshop.

Thursday will be the culmination of a whole week of work for all participants in the workshop. The action plan should help all countries concerned to set up a calendar to achieve the objectives set by Unesco and agreed during the workshop. Some participants point at the difficulty of having leadership to implement this action plan when they get back to their countries. In Mauritius, this should not be a problem, as the minister himself accepted to host such a conference. Cyril Dalais hopes that 2009 – which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Convention of Children’s rights – “will do justice to the rights of children”. In two years’ time, all participants should meet again to see what their achievements have been and they all hope that their governments will have taken action.

<B>Objectives of the workshop for Mauritius</B>

• Discuss ways and means to realise Dakar deliberations – where the report of the Unesco on "Strong Foundations: early childhood care and education" – on education for all was launched.

• Respond to the recommendations of the report

• Promote an opportunity to position Mauritius as a centre of excellence in Early Childhood Care and Education for the African region.

EXPERT’S VIEW

“Keep the uniqueness of the child!”</B>