“TOGETHER FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD IN SRI LANKA!”

To meet the challenge of pre-school for all in Sri Lanka, Solidarité Laïque with the support of French Cooperation – AFD (Agency of French Development) will engage new actions to extend its intervention at a national level in five provinces: North, East, West, Center and South through a new programme titled “Together for Early Childhood in Sri Lanka”. This programme aims to reinforce quality of pre-school education and promote effective dialogue and coordination between all actors in the preschool sector in a national level in order to establish an efficient and quality Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) policy.

The ceremony to mark the launch of the programme will be held on December 18 at 9 am at the Sri Lanka Institute Development Administration (SLIDA)

Mrs. Nayana E Senarathne, Director of the Children Secretariat, and France Ambassador Eric LAVERTU will be the special guests.

In Sri Lanka, less than one in two children ages 3-5 years old are enrolled in pre-school (Source: World Bank). Provision to Early Childhood Education can help equalize learning opportunities and promote equitable development. For Solidarité Laïque, recognition of the importance of preschool education goes with better teachers trainings, better dialogue with local authorities and increasing awareness of parents. Solidarité Laïque acts in Sri Lanka since 2004 to improve the quality and efficiency of the preschool education sector in the eastern province.

Dialogue and interaction with local authorities has been strengthened, awareness actions have been set up and helped improving the offer of pre-school education.