Integrated child care centre to be set up across country
ajman — A one-stop centre, which will offer integrated early education and childcare development services, will soon be introduced across the country, a senior official announced on Monday.
Meanwhile, three ministries — Health, Education and Community Development — jointly launched the one-stop centre ‘Community Centre for Early Childhood’, aimed at providing health, social and educational services for families and children aged under four, on the sidelines of the UAE’s First Early Childhood Development Conference in Ajman on Monday.
Addressing the three-day conference at the Teachers Training Institute, Jamila bint Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education, said: “We are working on building a comprehensive legislative system to determine appropriate standards for nurseries and early childhood law.”
Al Muhairi added: “The ministry has been in talks with universities to introduce solid programmes and practical training to graduating childhood education specialists and consultants.
“We want our local universities to provide us with equipped specialists who can help us give students hands-on curriculum that would feed their curiosity and equip them with 21st century skills.”
She added that the Ministry of Education (MoE) is also placing a framework to elevate the quality of public and private childcare centres across the country, while gradually enhancing curriculum in nursery and early education classes.
She emphasised the importance of early child education and care between 0-6 years old. Equipping young children at an early stage
with the right skills that match the fourth industrial revolution will help close the workforce gaps and achieve the UAE centennial 2071 goals. The ministry has been working on a legislative framework to develop teachers’ skills and childcare experts. “We are keen on supporting our educators and providing them with the knowledge that lets them grasp the importance of Early Childhood Development and its impact on society as a whole.”
She noted that children must be taught beyond reading and mathematical equations to explore and solve problems especially during the first six years of their lives. “Research shows if we instill in them the right skills and values at a young age, we would have created an educational system able to achieve any progress in the child’s personality,” Al Muhairi said.
“We are always handing teachers tools and resources, but if they cannot implement it the right way in classrooms, then there is a gap that needs to be filled,” said Al Muhairi.
To engage parents in the child growth, the ministry has launched a mobile exhibition — roadshow — for parents highlighting the important parts of a child’s growth from 0-6 years old.
Al Muhairi said the roadshow aims to show parents how to build on their children’s passion and help them achieve their best capabilities in their chosen field in the future. Through the conference, which runs until Wednesday, the ministry is looking for recommendations from international experts on how to improve curricula and existing educational policies to fill the gaps in the system.
Over 55 renowned early childhood development experts and 1,100 early childhood educators are attending the conference.