Tag Archives: early childhood care and education
Against All Odds – Story of a Struggle
It was the sweltering heat of May 1999 in the plains of Punjab. The vehicle struggled on the narrow dusty pathways spiraling through the crop fields. There was not even a semblance of a road. The moment the vehicle entered the village of Kot Dina in the district of Sheikhupura children of varying ages flocked after us. Seventeen kilometers away from the main road, like majority of the surrounding villages Kot Dina, with its mud thatched houses, had no functional primary school either for girls or boys. The area was the hub of ghost schools – the schools which were functional only on paper according to a government commissioned survey. The girls were the most deprived of the most basic educational opportunities as they were not allowed to go out of the village. The situation was breeding perennial illiteracy and, understandably, the area could not produce teachers. The fact that the villages were amongst the worst crime hit areas in the country made the prospects of availing the opportunities of getting educated very bleak. School buildings were in the personal use of the village elite – as meeting or storage places.
Let’s Revive Our Cultural Heritage for Early Childhood Education
Children learn most effectively and fruitfully when when they are taught through their culture; mother tongue, stories and games play a critical role. Instead of throwing them to the unknown and threatening world of imported games, stories, poems and role plays it is imperative to embed the early childhood care and development in the richness of local cultures.