The Federal Ministry of Education has attributed the lack of standardised practices in early childhood education to have continued to hinder the full realisation of children’s potentials
Dr Muyibat Olodo, Director, Technology and Science Education in the ministry disclosed this at a stakeholders’ planning meeting in Maraba on Wednesday.
The meeting is on the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Early Child Care and Development Education (ECCDE) in Nigeria.
Represented by Mr Kehinde Osinaike , Deputy Director, Vocational Education in the ministry, Olodo said the development was a necessary step towards ensuring a coordinated, evidence-based, and sustainable approach to ECCDE (Nutrition and Health).
“Early childhood is a critical phase in human development with far reaching implications for cognitive social and physical well-being.
” It is during this period that children require optimal nutrition, quality healthcare, and a stimulating learnig environment to thrive.
” However, challenges such as malnutrition, inadequate health interventions, and the lack of standardised practices in early childhood education continue to hinder the full realisation of our children’s potentials,” she said.
She added that the SOP would provide clear guidelines, roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders to ensure that best practices were institutionalised across all levels of implementation.
Also speaking, Josephine Chimezie,
Deputy Director, Basic Education Department, said that guidelines and policy of ECCDE had been reviewed.
Chimezie said this guideline would allow enable those operating such programm to operate in line with how it should be done.
She added that health and nutrition affects early childhood because a sick child cannot come to school and comprehend.
“Whatever you give to a child, you see it in the child’s development. If you give your child the food that does not contain nutrition, vitamins, vegetables, energy food and so on, the child will not develop properly.
“Also, the brain will not develop and the development of the child’s brain is from 0 to 5 years. And after that, whatever you are doing is just a remedy because the harm has been done.
” So, it is good to give the foundation what it needs for a healthy child,” she said.
She, however, said that the federal government would see to the monitoring of the guideline for proper implementation.
