Govt to review Early Childhood Education curriculum

The government is in the process of reviewing Early Childhood Development (ECD) Policy, this is according to the Cabinet Secretary for Education Dr. Fred Matiang’i.

Matiang’i said the policy will set standards, curricular and guidelines for the effective management and coordination of ECD institutions throughout the country.

“The policy will create coherence and harmony in teaching and learning in ECD schools that the County governments now manage, as a devolved function,” said the CS.

Dr. Matiang’i made the remarks when the Acting Representative of UNICEF Kenya, Dr. Pirkko Heinonen paid him a courtesy call in his Jogoo House office on Thursday.

Although pre-primary education is devolved, the National government is responsible for Education policy, standards and curricula.

The Cabinet Secretary said without a centralized ECD policy, serious inequalities in educational ECD standards among the 47 counties will crop up in terms of the quality of teachers, curricular and instructional materials as well as methods of delivery.

At the same time, Dr. Matiang’i disclosed that the Ministry was in the process of developing an Educational Management Information System (EMIS) that will ensure the creation of an accurate, reliable and relevant data.

“The data will be crucial for effective planning of education, right from ECD to University levels,” noted Dr. Matiang’i.

He thanked the UNICEF for the support it has given and continues to give the government, particularly in ECD sector and in EMIS.

UNICEF’s Dr. Heinonen underscored the importance of education saying solid education of helped build the health of children and the citizenry in general.

She said child mortality among educated mothers was lower than among populations with illiterate mothers.

Present at the meeting included the Director of Policy, Partnership and East African Affairs, Mr. Darius Mogaka, the UNICEF-Kenya Education Chief, Dr. Daniel Baheta and the Organization’s Education Specialist, Asseneth Cheboi.