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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) has commenced the training 150 participants in Benue state on a program called Joyful Parental Engagement begining from Guma Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The training will hold in three communities of three LGAs of the State including Guma, Otukpo and Vandeikya.
The programme is part of the Early Child Care Development (ECCD), programme by UNICEF intended to introduce the play aspect into the school work of children, aged zero to five years to enhance their
P performances, both at home and in school
The participants at the training include ECCD teachers, parents who have children in those classes, ECCD Desk Officers, Education Secretaries, youth, women, community leaders and traditional rulers.
Speaking with newsmen during the opening of the training at RCM primary school, Daudu, Guma LGA on Wednesday, the Education Specialist, UNICEF Field Office Enugu, Dr Agatha Nzeribe, said UNICEF expects that the training would prepare the environment for learning of children in the early stages of their lives.
She said “What UNICEF aims to achieve by the training is to ensure the learning of children through playing, both at home and in the school; in the schools, we are training the teachers to use the child-centered play way methods and approaches.
“After learning in the school they get home and what happens in the home is also critical. So we are working at adding play in children’s work, because children learn best when they have opportunity to play; you can teach a child anything through play.
“So we have brought in the parents and teachers so we can create a synergy between what happens at home and the school.
“In Benue, we will be training 150 participants in these communities of the LGAs. But right now in this center, we are targeting 50 parents, teachers and community members among others. We are getting positive responses from the states and hopefully we may replicate it in other communities, but right now, we have three centers so we will eventually do it in Vandeikya and Otukpo LGAs, next week.
“We are expecting the prepared environment for learning in the early years of the child and the prepared environment is for giving children skills to transit learning to other grade classes”, Dr Nzeribe stated.
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One of the Resource Persons at the event, Dr Daniel Terkula, a Lecturer with College of Education (COE), Oju, Benue state, said, the programme is an offshoot of Raggio Emila; education for the poor, who talks about involving parents in the play and learning process with their children.
He assured that with the training, parents would know how to engage children in the home.
Terkula who noted that the impact of the programme on the development of the child cannot be overemphasized said children are capable of doing things on their own and “all the parents have to do is to be there for them, guide them and give them a chance to things themselves, adding that materials used are of low cost or no cost at all.
He further pointed out that to the contrary, most parents feel they have no role to play in the early development of the child and also that they sometimes feel that if the children play they would not perform well in their school work.
He however insisted that the play rather helps the development of the child, both physically and mentally, which builds them and makes them flexible in their movement.
He said it is expected that after the training, teachers do their best to train the kids in schools while parents do their bits at home by engaging and encouraging meaningful plays to enable the develop physically, mentally and emotionally.
The Clan Head of Nyiev, Nyiev council Ward in Guma LGA, Chief Gowon Unzughul, who was a participant at the training, appreciated UNICEF for the training saying he has acquired better ideas on how to train his children from age zero to give.
He said “Before now, I didn’t use to play with my children. Somehow that made them afraid of me. When they have something to say, they don’t come to me but their mother but since I started playing with them. They are not afraid of me again. In fact, we have become friends.”
Chief Unzughul promised to spread the training to his subjects to embrace to ensure that parents commit more to early development of their children.
Also speaking, the Headteacher of RCM Primary School, Daudu, Mrs Rebecca Tsokar, said she had made up her mind to step down the training to other teachers in her school, so that they can also put it to practice with the school children, as well as children in their homes.
While she cautioned that the playful engagement cannot be done in a toxic environment Mrs Tsokar urged parents to provide a peaceful environment in the homes for their children to learn and thrive.
She advised further that “husband should not leave the children alone with their mothers. Stay home after work and play with your children, this will help them learn more, develop them mentally and emotionally and improve bonding between parents and the children.”
