All toddlers would parrot whatever she read out from an all-in-one book. At times, she would also read out Nepali alphabets and all the tots would utter them aloud:
Kamal Ka
Kharayo Kha
On a recent afternoon, Mira Sah, an Early Childhood Development (ECD) facilitator at Paropakar Higher Secondary School in Bhimsensthan of Kathmandu, was teaching English and Nepali alphabets to around 20 toddlers. [break]
The ECD classroom was erupting with the nerve-wracking noise only tots are capable of producing.
With a 70-page book in her hands, she was also teaching the tots about various animals and flowers in between.
Mira´s style of teaching was not in line with the method ECD teachers were expected to follow.
In ECD class-rooms, the facilitators, not teachers, engage the little children in a learning in a play setting.
In true ECD classes, the facilitators usually encourage the children to play with each other. The tots learn alphabets and names of different objects while playing. The genuine ECD facilitators hardly force children to repeat after them.
No matter how many illustrations they contain, books are hardly used in the real ECD classes. Instead, tots are given real objects to play with. For instance, if the tots are to be taught about flowers, they are taken to the garden outside. When they see, touch and feel the flowers, the tots learn much about them rather than seeing their illustrations in books.
When asked why she was not following the learning with playing method, she said, "I have to teach the tots for five hours every day. But, I get a monthly salary of just Rs 2,400. Now, how can I feel motivated to teach the tots that way for so long hours with such a meager salary?"
Mira did not mince words to show how frustrated she is with her job. "I am here only till the time I get a better option," she said. She also complained that just a 16-day training program that she attended before running the ECD class was simply insufficient for her.
A decade ago, the Ministry of Education (MoE) had formally adopted the concept of ECD, which was previously introduced by several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), with the objective of boosting standards of education at public schools. As of now, altogether 29,273 ECD centers have been developed across the country. The MoE is planning to build 500 more ECD centers this year.
The government has been allocating over one billion rupees annually to run the ECD centers. ECD experts say that the government´s investment has borne little fruit as most of ECD centers do not follow the learning with playing method.
Sanu Amatya, an early child development expert, says the ECD concept has failed to make a dent also because most of the ECD facilitators are not well-trained. Amatya says many see the ECD centers like any other ordinary classrooms. "The aim of ECD centers is to prepare the children mentally as well as physically before they go to schools," she says. "But, the ECD centers do not focus on the toddlers´ cognitive development."
"The government must motivate the ECD facilitators," says Amatya. "They must be well-trained. They must also get decent salaries. If they are forced to work for long hours with meager salaries, they will definitely not work properly." Amatya, who has visited dozens of ECD centers across the country and observed how the toddlers are taught there, says hardly a few ECD centers have truly adopted the learning with playing method.
Agatha Thapa, another early child development expert, points out the lack of coordination among several ministries as one of the reasons behind the problems faced by ECD centers. The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) and the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) have been assigned with separate responsibilities related to ECD program.
The MoE provides educational materials and salaries of ECD facilitators, while the MoHP and the MoWSW manage nutritious foods for the kids. Similarly, the MoLD provides permission for the ECD centers through ward committees, municipalities, VDCs and DDCs. As these four ministries do not coordinate with each other, growth of ECD has hit a snag, according to Thapa.
"No one knows which ministry has allocated how much resources," says Thapa, who is with Seto Guransh Sanstha, a pioneer organization that works in early childhood development sector.
Govinda Sharma, chief of early childhood development section at the MoE, admits that there is lack of coordination among several ministries. "The ECD program has failed to reach the target groups due to lack of coordination among the four ministries," says Sharma. "Two ECD classes are running in some places whereas some primary school does not have a single ECD center."
However, no one disagrees on the fact that the ECD concept in itself is a very good approach.
Many private schools have adopted the ECD concept as the foundation of primary education. They do not take admission of children directly in class one. Children are taught according to the ECD method from nursery to kindergarten level. Only then they are elevated to grade one. Thapa says what the tots learn in nursery to kindergarten level as per the ECD method prepares them for grade one onward.
Thapa claims that one of the main reasons behind the gap in performances of public and private schools is the ECD centers. "In public schools, the children learn alphabets only one year before they reach grade one. But, in private schools, they take three years before finally reaching grade one," says Thapa. "It makes a huge difference, which is reflected in the SLC exam results of public and private schools."
Related story
Early Childhood Development classes now limited to two years
