Adamawa: Stakeholders Advocate For ECE Inclusion in Education Curriculum

Adamawa: Stakeholders advocate for ECE inclusion in education curriculum.

From Umar Dankano, Yola.

Stakeholders in education sector have advocated for the inclusion of the Early Childhood Education,(ECE) approach in to the nation’s education curriculum as a panacea to addressing out-of- school challenge.

This was part of the resolutions reached at a Unicef media dialogue held in Yola, Adamawa state resolving that adopting the ECE through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will ensure inclusive learning to the children.

In her presentation cautioned “The role of Early Child Education in Nation building”.Dr.Maimuna Gambo Hammawa of FCE Yola advanced that Early Childhood Education stands as a transformative force with profound implications for nation building.

Hammawa said that the benefits of ECE are far-reaching and multifaceted, underscoring the need for policymakers to prioritize ECE initiatives as integral components of national development strategies.

“ECE encompasses a range of structured learning experiences tailored for children from birth to approximately eight years. This developmental phase is critical as its lays the groundwork for child’s future learning trajectory and personal growth.

“ECE is designed to support a holistic approach that includes cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development which operates on the understanding that learning begins at an early age, and the experiences children accumulate during these formative years can significantly shape their future”.she stated.

In his remarks, the Unicef Education Specialist,Abdulraham Ibrahim Ado noted that the programme was introduced to bridge the existing gabs in both the formal and non- formal education giving learners the opportunity to progress like in regular school set up.

Ado said that in the formal school, the  learning standards of children are measured using teaching at the right level approach where teachers access their pupils through performance with a view to fix them at the right level for learning advancement highlighting that parental involvement is crucial in this area.

Corroborating in the same lane, Unicef focal person at the Adamawa state Ministry of education and Human strategy, Lucky Godwin Kure 52 non- formal learning centres have been introduced through Accelerated Basic Learning Centres (ABEC) to support out- of – school children in the state.

Kure announced that the state government have renovated 1,725 classrooms, equipped 56 schools with boreholes , constructed 553 blocks of 3 classrooms, provided 85,340 student seats and procured 22,467 teacher furnitures in schools while building 21 new model primary schools across the 21 local government areas in the state.

An accessment field trip by the media team to some selected formal and non- formal learning centres in Gombi local government area, on Thursday, some pupils and their teachers were seen holding classes.

Answering questions from journalists at Tappare  non- formal learning centre Gombi,Miss Shelena Daniels said that the pupils in her numbering 45 are really concentrating very well in the studies calling on government and Unicef for more support towards helping the less privileged parents about education pursuits.