The Children, Our Future

Unenrolled pre-school children face inequalities early in life

High numbers of young children who are not enrolled in pre-school are at risk of facing deep inequalities from early in life, according to UNICEF’s first ever global report on early childhood education that highlights a lack of investment in pre-primary education by majority of governments worldwide.

The report entitled “A World Ready to Learn: Prioritizing quality early childhood education,” revealed that children with access to pre-school are also less likely to repeat grades or drop out of school. Hence, they are more able to contribute to peaceful and prosperous societies and economies when they reach adulthood.

“Students who attended preschool before starting kindergarten continued to demonstrate higher performance in literacy, mathematics, and social and emotional development in elementary

Julia Rees,

school,” said UNICEF representative, citing UNICEF Philippines’ ongoing longitudinal study on early childhood care and development which echoes findings from the global report.

Only 20 percent of three-to-fouryear-old Filipino children were enrolled in pre-school in 2009. Parents believed that their children were too young to go to school and that centers are too far from their homes.

Enrollment percentage has since doubled to 42 percent in 2013 but while this is a significant improvement, enrollment needs to increase to ensure that every Filipino child gets an early start in education.

Globally, the report notes that household wealth, mothers’ education level, and geographical location are among the key determinants for pre-primary attendance. Poverty, however, is the single largest determining factor.

Disasters and conflict can also impact pre-primary-aged children. In Mindanao, 57 percent of three-to-four years old and 22 percent of five-year-old children were not enrolled in pre-school and kindergarten in 2017, respectively. Pre-primary education helps young children affected by crises overcome trauma by giving them a structure, a safe place to learn and play, and an outlet to express their emotions.

In the Philippines, the passage of the Early Years Act of 2013 and the Universal Kindergarten Law in 2012 mandates the government to strengthen the system for providing early childhood care and development services, including early learning for zero-to-four years old, providing kindergarten services for all five-year-old children, and to appropriate funds thereof.