'Govt-NGO coordination a must to implement ECD programmes'
Staff Correspondent
Experts at a workshop yesterday called for provision of components of early childhood development (ECD) programme in each ministry so that the nation can have a better generation. They also called for coordination between the government and non-government organisations (NGOs) at all levels to implement the ECD programme across the country. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) organised the national workshop at the Meghna hall of BIAM Foundation in the city. Presenting the keynote paper, Mahmuda Akter of Brac University said the ECD is a right of all children irrespective of social class and status. ECD refers to a comprehensive approach to policies and programmes to protect the child's rights to develop his or her full potential, she said. Children should be provided with physical and mental health care so that they become socially competent and feel emotionally while communicating with others, she added. Mahmuda also discussed the pattern of ECD emerging in the country and the initiatives taken by the government, private and development organisations for its implementation. A total of 7,91,523 children aged up to six years are included in the ECD progarammes being implemented by around 200 organisations through parenting education, wider range of interventions related to health and nutrition and early child care, she maintained. Mahmuda also underscored the need for spiritual development of children to ensure their overall development. Addressing as the chief guest, Kamaluddin, secretary to the ministry of women and children affairs, suggested specifying the age limit for children in the ECD programmes. The global age limit is eight years for ECD programme and some countries follow this and operate ECD by integrating it with the primary education, he said. In Bangladesh, the ECD is being operated as a separate stage before primary education by the Shishu Academy under the ministry of women and children affairs at 64 districts in cooperation with the Unicef and other organisations. Kamaluddin also called for utilising whatever resources the government possesses and working for the welfare of underprivileged children. Speaking as a special guest, Mahmudul Kabir, country director of Tere Des Homes (TDH)-Netherlands, suggested that the ministry of primary education should incorporate the ECD programme. BSAF Director AYM Mosharraf Hossain presided over the workshop.
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