Council takes steps to tackle ECCE issues
Fully aware of these gigantic tasks of managing issues related to access, equity, and quality of planning and implementing ECCE, and meeting the needs of the diverse sectors of the local community, including coordinating the various initiatives of stakeholders, relevant government agencies and the private sectors, the Sarawak government consented to the formation of the SECDC on Aug 20, 2009.
SIBU: Sarawak Early Childhood Development Council ( SECDC) has initiated many steps in preparing the younger generation for a challenging present and meaningful future.
Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said the steps taken are to address the issues of access, equity and quality of early childhood care and education ( ECCE) in Sarawak.
She said this when addressing participants of the International Conference of Leadership in Early Childhood Education at Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia recently.
She was presenting a paper on the ‘ Best Practices in Early Childhood Leadership – Changing Trends: Sarawak Experience”.
She said the issues of access, equity, and quality related to the provision and delivery of ECCE were a concern to the state government.
“Fully aware of these gigantic tasks of managing issues related to access, equity, and quality of planning and implementing ECCE, and meeting the needs of the diverse sectors of the local community, including coordinating the various initiatives of stakeholders, relevant government agencies and the private sectors, the Sarawak government consented to the formation of the SECDC on Aug 20, 2009,” she said.
She said in addressing the limited access to registered ECCE, whereby a high percentage of
Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister
children aged four years and below were not enrolled into registered centres, SECDC encouraged and facilitated the formation of homecare centres, community- based learning centres, childcare centres at work places and childcare centres at religious institutions.
She said SECDC collaborated with relevant agencies to generate a new Standard Opening Procedure on the registration of childcare centres.
Secondly, she said, the issues of equity were dealt with through the implementation of the National ECCE Curriculum, with an additional component of local values and culture, as well as the community-based programmes.
“The council is conscious about the disparities between the rural and the urban, the rich and the poor, the socio- culturally disadvantaged and the privileged, and the physically challenged and the gifted.
“The council is also fully aware of our local and national needs aspirations, and similarly about the needs of the present and the future,” she said.
Thirdly, on the aspect of quality, the council placed great emphasis on the provision of facilities, infrastructure, personnel and supervisory support, she said.
“Continuous professional development efforts for improving the knowledge and skills of the practitioners and operators, among others, are the annual Preschool Conventions and Randau; courses and workshops, and benchmarking visits.”
She said since 2006, 11 conventions with different themes had been organised in Kuching and other major urban areas like Sibu and Miri.
According to her, the council had to set quotas for the participants of these conventions every year due to their popularity and the overwhelming response from preschool educators.
“Apparently, every year, our convention has proven its benefits and credentials, and we will continue holding them,” she said.
She said the council had produced four books aimed at helping practitioners to improve the delivery of ECCE.
The books are ‘Manual Standard Kualiti Pendidikan Taska dan Tadika’ ( 2012); ‘ Buku Panduan Asuhan Kanak-Kanak di Rumah’ ( 2016); ‘ Pelan Strategik Asuhan, Bimbingan dan Didikan Awal Kanak-Kanak 2016-2020’ (2016) and ‘English Fun Learning Handbook’ (2017).
She also revealed that the state Education Department had recorded that a high percentage of Primary 1 pupils had preschool education.
She said in 2013, a total of 39,052 out of 40,801 Primary 1 pupils attended preschool; in 2014, a total of 37,978 children out of 40,127 children; in 2015, a total of 38,142 children out of 40,770 children; while in 2016, it was a total of 38,863 children out of 40,865 children.
She said this year, the record showed a significant 37,931 children out of 39,005 children had attended preschool.
She pointed out that education, including ECCE, was under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
“Managing early childhood educational and care change at the state level is equally challenging and delicately sensitive as policies are formulated at the central level, and any modifications proposed or implemented must take into account both local needs as well as national aspirations,” she said.
She however said that the paradigm shifts in ECCE approaches — from social services to professional services; from basic literacy and numeracy skills to holistic development; local values to global values and so forth — had strengthen the justification for the existence of SECDC.
She said the spirit of inclusiveness through shared leadership practised in SECDC had enriched ECCE development in Sarawak.
“Through shared leadership, all members were given the opportunity to share their views, ideas, expertise, and thoughts towards policy formulation and programme development and implementation.
“We have found it to be very effective and it has worked well with us in Sarawak, a state with numerous diversities, complex educational context, challenging geographical terrain, and multiple ECCE providers,” she said.
Also present at the event were president of National Association of Early Childhood Care and Education Malaysia (NAECCEM) Datin Radziah Mat Daud, keynote speaker from Indonesia Professor Dr Fasli Jalal, vice- rector of Universitas Negeri Jakarta Professor Dr Muchlis R Luddin, keynote speaker from Japan Professor Yoichi Sakakihara, conference organising chairwoman Dr Sofia Hartati and president of Association of Early Childhood Educators, Singapore (AECES) Dr Christine Chen.