It’s not the responsibility of the government only. As emphasized in the ECCD policy, all relevant stakeholders should come forward to resolve the issue. Development organizations, early childhood care institutions, health sector, the media, policy advocates, education institutes, parents, and community leaders -- all can play a vital role from their respective positions.
However, if there is coordination among the stakeholders, then the result will be quicker, easier, and more effective. Bangladesh Early Childhood Development Network (BEN) is a forum of about 159 organizations working for early childhood development in the country.
Lending a hand
UNICEF is working with the government when it comes to policy formation, providing financial aid and also operating childcare centres. Development organizations like Brac and Save the Children are providing support to early childhood development through different programs and projects among many other institutes and organizations in the country. Some support to children were specially given for Covid-19.
Large or small, every effort counts if it can support even one child’s life. For instance, Fostering Playful Homes (FPH) project of Save the Children supported 12,000 children from Dhaka urban slum areas and two upazilas of Barisal district through providing “magic bags” full of age-appropriate play and learning materials to the children. Storytelling videos were also developed and circulated through local cable TV networks for parents and children.
In addition, guidelines and orientation sessions were held with parents on the importance of playful learning in early childhood, use of the magic bag materials, and how they support children’s development and inform positive sides of storytelling to children.
Talking to a mother of a four-and-a-half year old boy, she said: “The magic bag has made my son’s learning interesting and improved his socialization as he plays with his family members. It’s definitely supporting his mental growth.” The initiative was financed by Lego Foundation in 2021 with an aim to support the early childhood development of children from marginalized social conditions during the pandemic.
Brac’s Institute of Educational Development (IED) has early childhood development support programs working as an advocate for the importance of play during early years of development and learning. Syeda Sazia Zaman, education specialist, IED, Brac University, remarked: “There were a few instances where the government initiated to address the needs of young children. However, in most cases, reopening of ECCD services still remains obscure. During this pandemic, Brac IED developed the Pashe Achi remote learning program to promote the well-being of caregivers and their children, aged from birth to five years. It promotes child development through play-based learning and nurturing positive parenting for families within both mainstream and refugee communities in Bangladesh.
“Brac has also developed 'play lab models' which organically started strengthening learning through play for children between 0-5 years. The play labs also improved both play leaders’ and parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices around ECD and equipped them with the skills to support their children’s development.”
Talking about pre-primary support during Covid-19, in most cases children were out of any formal learning support as schools were closed and pre-primary education is attached to primary schools in Bangladesh. NGOs and other institutes have been providing some sort of learning support in a variety of non-formal ways. However, the numbers reached are very minimal compared to the 3.8 million pre-primary children of the country.
Brac’s home-schooling through phone calls, community radio learning programs, and community learning centres and Save the Children’s community-based learning centres and distance learning support over phone follow-ups are some initiatives taken during Covid-19 to support pre-primary children. When asked what ECD network is doing, Dr Manzoor Ahmad, Chair of BEN said:
“BEN, along with its members and partners, have engaged in advocacy and awareness activities, including a series of webinars, to draw attention to the situation of young children and the need for mitigating measures.”
These initiatives are promising and have provided examples of the different ways of supporting early childhood care and development for children; however, these are separate initiatives covering a minimum number of children compared to the huge numbers that continue to be left behind. It’s been two years and the pandemic is still here. Moreover, we have to prepare ourselves for any kind of similar situation in the future by developing solutions to ensure the continuation of pre-primary learning and support for early development of children.
What does the present and the future hold?
If we cannot take proper steps now, then children of this age group will face irreparable learning and development loss for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, it has already been realized as among the most major concerns by leaders and experts in the country.
At a recent webinar titled “Achievement, challenges and way forward in Bangladesh’s Golden Jubilee,” jointly organized by CSO Alliance along with Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), and Dhaka Ahsania Mission in December 2021, speakers unanimously agreed that special focus on the early, pre-primary, and technical education sector was a necessity. Rasheda K Choudhury, convener of CSO Alliance and Executive Director of CAMPE, said that the pre-primary students have long been neglected, and called upon the authorities to put special attention in this connection.
Dr Md Ahsan Habib from the University of Dhaka also remarked: “Actually, in our regular school system, we could not incorporate the learnings of children from their home, daily life experiences and surroundings into our curriculum. To support early learning of children, those are the important issues to consider, and we need to work on that."
Syeda Sazia Zaman further added: “It is so important to build alliances for ECD promotion with civil society organizations, government, universities, other institutions, and the overall community.”
According to Dr Manzoor, there is much to improve on in terms of various young child-focused services. Immunization health check and perinatal care need to be improved. Day care services should be reviewed and steps for safe reopening of the services should be spelled out. A menu of essential messages regarding children's care and their social and emotional health should be compiled and disseminated widely through social media, electronic media, mobile phone text messages, and family contacts of service providing organizations.
He also adds: “The experiences derived from the steps proposed above should be examined, and lessons considered for future situations. Moving forward without delay on a proposal for initiating a model of comprehensive young childcare services under consideration with the government so that an organizational vehicle is in place for children, families, and communities to be better prepared for emergencies.”
Final thoughts
I am not an ECD or education expert, but as a parent representing commoners, I think, as immediate actions, we need to assess the learning loss of pre-primary children and find a solution to minimize the gap. We must develop an inclusive framework to continue support to these children if any similar situation arises in future.
We must raise awareness and educate parents and teachers on the importance of early care and development of children. We have to strengthen collaborative efforts among the government and other relevant stakeholders. We must ensure required finance to support these children’s learning and development.
We cannot fulfil the dreams of the Father of the Nation and create a Shonar Bangla if we keep our future generations lagging behind as a result of the pandemic and wait until the situation gets better. We have to find ways by considering that the pandemic might be with us for a long time.
It is high time to question ourselves: Are we doing enough for our children? If not, then why not start now?
Aziza Md Aziz is a development communication professional. Email: [email protected].
