Early
Childhood Development: A case for increased investment
Reference is made to the recent Zimbabwe
National Budget Statement presented by Hon. P.A Chinamasa, the Minister of
Finance and Economic Development on the 7th of December 2017. As a
staunch advocate of increased investment and expenditure in early childhood
development, I noted with dismay the reduced investment on the same by the
Honourable Minister.
The first years of life are important, because what
happens in early childhood can matter for a lifetime. It is now common cause
that learning starts in infancy, long before formal education begins, and
continues throughout life. Infact at the World Conference for Education for All
held in Jomtein, Thailand in 1990 it was widely adopted that “Education begins at birth”. The year 2000 Nobel Laureate in
Economic Sciences, Prof James Hackman argues that “early learning begets later
learning and early success breeds later success, just as early failure breeds
later failure.” Thus success
or failure at this stage lays the foundation for success or failure in school,
which in turn leads to success or failure in post-school learning. Recent
studies of early childhood investments in the developed world have shown
remarkable success and indicate that the early years are important for early
learning. Moreover, early childhood interventions of high quality have lasting
effects on learning and motivation. Reading through the budget statement one
gets the notion that the State would want to relegate this responsibility to
parents and communities. Whilst parents are indeed the child’s best teacher, there has to be a
formalized way of ensuring that the gains that the previous administration were
beginning to make in this sector are not lost. It would be foolhardy to think
that some of the comprehensive strides made by the previous head of the
education ministry should be thrown away. Zimbabweans have had various issues
to raise against the former minister and rightly so, however I must hasten to say
that there was some great work done in order to position the country as a
regional model in the provision of early childhood development services in the
country.
Over and above the ECD curriculum and teaching
standards mentioned by the Finance Minister, Zimbabwe needs to develop and
adopt a comprehensive Early Childhood Development Policy that will ensure
standardization of service provision and ensure our young children are wholly
supported. Indeed parents and communities have provided the backbone supportive
services through engaging as para-professional teachers and as community
caregivers this still needs to be buttressed by a policy that addresses play
material, furnishing of ECD classrooms, pedagogical methods and renovation or
construction of ECD classrooms.
Hon Finance Minister, paying salaries for qualified
ECD teachers should indeed be a priority for the government if we are to move
towards the “New
Economic Order” No one
should be left behind, children should in fact be at the forefront as they
access what they need to grow to be responsible citizens of the nation and the
world. Let not this burden be placed on the parents again, let the government
begin to invest more in this, because the long term gains are there and
research in this area has proved it time and again. Indeed there are multiple
economic returns for the case of investing in Early Childhood Development that
Zimbabwe will be able to reap. Whilst I understand the need to be prudent with
available resources, also missing from the current budget for is consideration
of priorities or recognition of the need to prioritize early childhood
development. Unfortunately, in an era of tight government budgets, it is
impractical to consider active investment program for all persons. The real question
is how to use the available funds wisely. The best evidence supports the policy
prescription: invest in the very young and improve basic learning and
socialization skills.
If we are to move towards a “New Economic Order” then we need to quadruple the
amount of money allocated to ECD. As a country, we cannot afford to postpone
investing in children until they become adults, or even wait until they are in
Grade 1 or 2, we need to start earlier. We cannot leave this to a time when at
times it may be too late to intervene.
Patrick Makokoro
Founder
Nhaka Foundation
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