Early childhood education important

MEMBERS of Parliament (MPs) who are concerned with the quality of early childhood education in their districts should support the current education ministers’ vision and plan to promote early childhood education to improve the quality of education.
In a recent parliament sitting, some MPs delivered misleading and ambiguous criticisms against the current elementary reform and argued that OBE (Outcomes-Based Education) is reintroduced.
This view is in contrast to the progress of Standards-Based Education (SBE) and curriculum reform.
The elementary sector is sustained in the early childhood programme and mapped out in the reform plan as part of the current SBE structure and curriculum reform.
There were issues identified in the OBE that contributed to the falling standards OBE elementary curriculum.
Elementary education in OBC overemphasised vernacular and culture that English and Math teach.
Low quality of training and performances of teachers at elementary and primary levels of education.
Also there were inadequate and poor supply and availability of teaching and learning resources.
Studies showed that majority of elementary and primary teachers who were expected to implement the reform were poorly trained and ill-equipped to respond to the complexity of terminology, language, pedagogy and assessment associated with OBE.
Hence, some critical reform initiatives was undertaken by the Education Department to improve the quality of teaching and learning with in-service and training for elementary teachers.
Reform exercises in the elementary sector included the following to address following issues identified.
In OBC elementary teachers spent too much time developing resources with very little time was used to deliver a quality lesson that achieve quality results.
In SBC, the curriculum writers have produced scripted lessons detailed in English for each elementary subjects.
The teacher will now spend less time preparing lesson and more high quality time spend in teaching and learning activities.
Furthermore every elementary programme planned and taught phonics spelling letters using sounds and supported with planned reading activities aided by supplied reading journals.
The changes in the elementary reform was undertaken and progressing in consultation with different stakeholders and accordance with government plan, education statements, acts, different policies that entails pillars of human development, universal education goals , tasks force recommendations, consultative reports, education policy, PNG Medium Term Development Plan and vision 2050.
Now that with the current reform elementary teachers training quality should be upgraded in accordance with the structural reform of 1-6-6 structure for SBC to achieve quality education.
Teachers who have attained CET are now receiving further training in Diploma Early Childhood.
That should be able to deliver early childhood program in both content and skills effectively and achieve high quality in elementary and junior primary levels English and Mathematics.
Teachers who will graduate with early childhood training are expected to meet National Teachers Standards education framework.
All registered primary school teachers colleges will offer Standard Based four year Bachelor of Education Primary degree programme, while the University of Goroka offers Diploma Early Childhood through its flexible learning programme to up skill certified elementary teachers.
All these exercise and programmes are geared towards improving the quality of early childhood education as part of the current education reform.

Alexander Tagi
Madang Teachers College