PRIORITISE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION – MHANGO

BY JACKSON MAPAPAYI THE Teaching Service Commission says early childhood education (ECE) should not just be a preserve for the rich but even children in the rural areas should be accorded the opportunity to access the service.

Speaking in an interview, Commission chairperson Stanley Mhango said in line with the Patriotic Front (PF) government policy, early childhood education is key in human resource development in the country.

He said according to a research, children that attend ECE lessons perform far much better those children who have not attended it.

‘’So, we have noted with interest and we are working it because it is key in educating children, he said.

He said from statistics there is clear indication that parents have interest in terms of enrolling their children.

He said so far there are 6220 learners accessing ECE in 170 centres in the province.

‘’This is commendable for the province, but I think we have not done well in terms teacher recruitment for ECE, he said.

He disclosed that there are only 153 teachers that have been employed in the province to handle 6220 pupils.

‘’And that is why in this year’s teacher recruitment, what we are going to do is it won’t just be general recruitment; it will be needy based recruitment.

‘’For example we have a challenge of science, mathematics and technology teachers, so it won’t just be wholesome recruitment. And one of the priority areas is that we need to allocate sufficient number to ECE because 153 teachers against 6220 is defeating our own effort,” he said.