T

he Education and Culture Ministry is planning to make early childhood education a universal program for 5-year-old children in 100 regions starting next year.

The plan is one of the efforts to ensure access to quality early childhood education by 2030. This is one of the targets stipulated in the Incheon Declaration set by skills and education ministers from all around the world during the World Education Forum (WEF) in May.

'€œThe government will do so in regions where enrollment of students in early childhood education [PAUD] centers is already high. The program is universal only for children of 5 years for a year before they enter elementary school,'€ said Ella Yulaelawati, the ministry'€™s early childhood education director, at the ministry'€™s office on Monday.

The ministry records 100 regencies and municipalities across the country with pre-primary education enrollment rates of more than 90 percent.

'€œThe education of children from unfortunate backgrounds will be funded by the central and regional government,'€ Ella told The Jakarta Post.

Ella said that the teachers at the PAUD centers, mostly community-based initiatives, were local housewives and sympathizers. They are effective campaigners for the programs in their neighborhoods.

The ministry is also proposing to raise the complimentary operational fund given to each early childhood education center to Rp 12 million (US$857). It plans to give that amount to each of the total 190,160 registered PAUDs.

As of July, the ministry has seen 190,160 PAUD centers, including kindergartens, playgroups and daycares, registered under it, an addition of 2,042 to the 188,118 last year.

Out of the 190,160 bodies, 19 percent, the highest percentage of them, are located in East Java, followed by 14 percent in Central Java and 13 percent in West Java. The remaining 54 percent are spread almost equally in 31 other provinces.

At the moment the agreed fund is Rp 9 million for each of the 158,700 centers.

'€œThe funds are given only when a PAUD center fulfills certain criteria. Those with already good financial conditions will be able to get them when they embrace students from less fortunate families or children with disabilities,'€ Ella said.

She added that the funds will be used to help the centers to pay bills, such as water and electricity bills, and transport fees for the teachers.

Parenting communication specialist Hana Yasmira welcomes the plan because, as she said, '€œThe golden age for character building includes when children were still fetuses until they were 5 years old and PAUD centers can facilitate this well. So the government must ensure the quality of educators.'€

The ministry'€™s teachers and education facilitators development director Nugaan Yulia Wardhani Siregar said that currently the government only gives allowances to teachers in kindergartens because they are considered part of formal education.

'€œMore than 50 percent of informal PAUD center educators don'€™t hold bachelor'€™s degrees. It depends on the regions'€™ initiatives to assist them,'€ Yulia told the Post. (rbk)