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Indonesia lags in early childhood education
Data from Statistic Indonesia (BPS) shows that only a measly 36.36 percent of Indonesian children attended pre-primary schools last year. This puts the country far behind the regional average, as UNICEF data suggests that East and Southeast Asia have an average of 80 percent in 2022 when it comes to early school participation.
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Learning through play: Children play at an early childhood education (PAUD) center near Danone's factory in Prambanan near Yogyakarta. The center was built and supported by Danone Specialized Nutrition Indonesia. The photo was taken before the COVID-19 pandemic. (Danone/File)
T
he United Nations' recent report of a learning crisis experienced by low-and-middle income countries globally has raised concerns about the state of early childhood education in Indonesia, which appeared to be lagging its neighboring countries.
The report, conducted by UNICEF in collaboration with UNESCO, underlines the importance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) to promote school readiness and lifelong well-being, among other things.
However, almost 60 percent of children in low-income countries do not have access to early learning opportunities, the report notes. As a result, over 300 million of the world’s children will not reach minimum reading proficiency levels by 2030 unless immediate action is taken.
The UN emphasized that ECCE was the most transformative investment a country can make to give all children a fair start in life and combat inequalities early on.
“Investing in our youngest children brings the greatest returns, both socially and economically [...] The price of inaction can be very high, as our work shows,” Stefania Giannini of UNESCO said during the report’s launch on June 17, as stated in an official statement.
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The report also found that around 43 percent of pre-primary teachers across the globe do not have the necessary training, estimating that the world would need six million more pre-primary teachers by 2030 to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to ensure quality early education for all children.
