More investment needed in early childhood education, experts say

Dubai: The UAE needs to invest much more on early childhood education, experts have said, raising alarm over the neglect of this vital area which has contributed to a situation where most kindergarten staff are unqualified for their jobs.

Recent studies have also found that Emirati participation in the sector is minimal, which experts fear could negatively impact the young children's learning of Arabic in cases where it is their mother tongue.

These concerns were raised at a conference on early childhood education, organised by the Ministry of Education (MoE) yesterday.

"Early education has significant impact on basic health, behaviour and learning of children," said Dr John Bennet, senior researcher with Unicef, who was the key note speaker.

Unfortunately, however, most governments spend much more on higher education, such as the university level, than on early education, he said.

"The UAE's public spending on education is highly inadequate, at 1.13 per cent of GDP in 2008 [according to a World Bank report]. On average, countries in the Mena region spend five per cent of their GDP on education, similar to most OECD countries," Dr Bennet added.

However, the low spend on education is mostly because of the high level of privatisation of the sector, Dr Bennet told Gulf News.

"This policy does have an impact — for instance, only two per cent of kindergarten teachers are Emirati, which especially affects mother tongue literacy of children," he said.

Better salary

The UAE has to increase investment in education, especially early education, and attract more Emiratis to the sector with better salary and benefits, and also provide them with adequate training, Dr Bennet added.

The two-day conference is being held with the participation of several senior officials, educationists and kindergarten teachers from the UAE and the region.

"Early childhood, up to six years of age, is a very crucial stage as this is when children begin to recognise and build their character. Maximum attention to early childhood education is essential to ensure that the new generation we are moulding has a solid foundation," Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education, said yesterday, after inaugurating the conference.

Start from the beginning

"The UAE has already achieved several milestones in the field of education, on par with our social and economic progress. But in order to improve, it is important to start from the very beginning," he said and added that the conference will be held every two years as a platform to share best practices and the latest researches in the field, and develop skills and knowledge of those working in kindergartens,

According to a Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) report last year, 70 per cent of Emirati children in kindergartens were enrolled in the private sector.

 Most Kindergarten staff unqualified

Dubai: Most of Dubai's kindergarten staff are unqualified, it has come to light.

"Over 65 per cent of staff at Dubai's early education centres, such as nurseries, are unqualified for their jobs," said Samia Al Kazi, co-founder of Arabian Child, an early childhood education development consultancy that conducted a survey for the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The situation is alarming because these children are the future, she said. Educationists at the conference also called for kindergartens and nurseries not to take up the role of primary schools.