• EDUCATION Minister John Phiri (centre) shares a light moment with UNICEF country representative Hamed Bashir (left) as Zambia Open University Vice-Chancellor Mutale Musonda (right) looks on. This was before the official opening of the National Conference on Early Childhood Education at Mulungushi international conference centre in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by CLEVER ZULU

By CATHERINE  NYIRENDA-
MORE than 17,000 pre-grades are currently benefiting from community-based Early Child Education (ECE) services to prepare them for primary school enrollment, Education, Science Vocational Training and Early Education Minister John Phiri has said.
Dr Phiri said the learners were in the 1,140 ECE centres that the ministry has established in collaboration with other stakeholders.
Dr Phiri said there was need for continued collaboration in order for the ministry to implement the programme effectively and support more learners by preparing them to succeed.
“As at now, more than 1,000 teachers have been deployed to these centres (ECE), with the curriculum, including teacher training being developed and implemented,” Dr Phiri said.
He said this during the first-ever national ECE conference held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre yesterday.
The minister said the importance of early childhood education could not be overemphasised as it was a foundation to better learning achievement at primary school and other higher levels of education and training.
Dr Phiri said the ministry could, however, not fulfil this cause alone but needed to work closely with partners and other line ministries to ensure that children had a strong foundation that encompassed the education, social and emotional domain and provided children with necessary preparation they needed to enter primary school.
He commended the works of civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and the private sector that were carrying out the ECE activities in Zambia.
The early child education was transferred from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to Education in 2004 but was only revived when the Patriotic Front Government came into power in 2011.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative Hamid El-Bashir said investment in quality early education was important as it set the foundation upon which future learning took place.
Mr El Bashir said it was important that all children received an opportunity of quality early childhood development and education equitably.
He said statistics revealed that 14.7 per cent of Zambian children had access to pre-school services, leaving out 85 per cent without the opportunity, of which the majority were from the rural areas.
Mr El Bashir commended the Ministry of Education for putting in place a number of programmes that were contributing to improving access and quality of ECE.
He said UNICEF would continue to support the process and continued commitment to working with the Government and other partners in securing every child’s right to early childhood development and education.