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By Gabriel Dike
Stakeholders at the 5th Annual National Conference of Early Childhood Association of Nigeria (ECAN) have called for the establishment of a commission for Early Childhood Education (ECE).
The conference, which was held at the Lagos State University of Education, Noforija, Epe, Lagos, advocated for the creation of ECE commission at federal level and states establishes ECE Board separately to boost the development of early childhood education in the country.
The communiqué acknowledged that the call for ECE commission is based on the creation of the secondary education commission that has helped its growth and development.
The ECAN conference featured two lead paper presentations; “Philosophical Tools for Scaling Up Early Childhood Education in Nigeria: The Role of Stakeholders” by Dr. Shoaga Opeyemi and “The Greater Role of Government in Scaling up the Status of Early Childhood Education in Nigeria” by Prof. Olumide Ige. The presentations emphasized the crucial roles of stakeholders and government in improving the standard of early childhood education in Nigeria.
The take takeaways of conference is that stakeholders, including policymakers, parents, teachers, and the public must play a vital role in promoting ECE, government involvement is crucial in scaling up ECE, addressing disparities, and ensuring access to quality education.
Participants acknowledged that international examples demonstrate the importance of government investment in early childhood education.
The resolutions highlighted challenges of ECE in country to include inadequate funding, inconsistent policy implementation, inadequate teacher training, poor infrastructure, developmentally inappropriate strategies, and corruption.
The recommendations of the conference include the encouragement of stakeholders to adopt a mindset shift towards child-centered and play-based learning, develop assessment methods that capture students’ diverse skills and learning styles.
Others are to promote equity and access to early childhood education for children, increase budget allocation for ECE, foster public-private partnerships and community engagement and strengthen policy implementation and enhance infrastructure.
“Investing in ECE is crucial for a brighter future in Nigeria. By embracing philosophical tools, stakeholder engagement, and government involvement, we can scale up ECE and provide Nigerian children with a solid foundation for lifelong learning,” the resolution stated.
