Greater focus on proper upbringing of children stressed

Islamabad: National conference on Early Childhood care and education at its opening session here on Wednesday at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) vowed to lay greater focus on proper upbringing of children, making them part of main stream of national development.

While inaugurating the two-day event, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman announced that the government will try to reach every child for their proper nourishing to achieve the ultimate target of establishing a prosperous and healthy society.

It was the second conference, jointly arranged by the Ministry of Education, AIOU, HEC, Rupani Foundation and other stake-holders including UNICEF, Plan international, UNESCO and Open Society Foundations.

The event was largely attended by the educationists, researchers and the members of the civil society. During its two-day working sessions, it will deliberate upon ‘Reconstructing practices to address challenges and trends in early childhood care and education (ECCE).

While welcoming the participants from all over the country, Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shahid Siddiqui announced that the University will soon set up a Center of Excellence on ECCE to promote the cause of children.

The inaugural session was also addressed by Joint Educational Adviser Prof. Muhammd Rafiq Tahir, Chief of Education UNICEF Ellen Van Kalmthout, chairman Rupani Foundation Nasruddin Rupani, Nadia Noor, Acting country Head PLAN international and Nargis Sultana senior program officer Open Society Foundations.

A first-ever a quality research journal on ECCE, developed by the Faculty of Education, AIOU was also launched on the occasion. The Minister spoke high of the achievements of the present government in the educational sector, stating that they have been trying their best to provide educational facilities to all children of the country with a coordinated and holistic approach.

Sharing with the participants the success story of the present government during the last five years, Baligh ur Rehman said there have been some landmark achievements including development of national curriculum, introduction of minimum educational standards, development of value education documents, hug increase in the educational budget and rate of reduction of out-of-school children.

About the achievements of the targets, set during the first national conference on ECCE, he said there were some outstanding developments to the effect. Concrete steps were taken for making the children valuable asset of the country. The curriculum was revised in the light of theme emerged from the conference’s recommendations, he added.

The Minister appreciated the AIOU and other stake-holders for their keen interest in making the nation-wide campaign on ECCE successful. The VC AIOU told the participants that they had successfully accomplished the task given to them including the setting up Excellent center on ECCE, launching of journal, introduction of BS four-year degree and post-graduate diploma on ECCE.

The University has also been working with the private sector organization PARVAAN for development of teachers’ education curriculum. They have also contributed to the PARVAAN entrepreneurship’s evaluation work. Rafiq Tahir highlighted achievements of the Education Ministry in promoting quality education and early childhood development. To this direction, he said they made consolidated and well-coordinated efforts that brought about tangible results.

On the occasion, Ms. Khadija Khan of Rupani Foundations gave a presentation on the achievements of the First national conference on ECCE. Dean Education, AIOU Dr. Nasir Mahmood in his vote of thanks mentioned about the contribution made by the organizers, making the conference successful. A posters’ competition on ECCE and a Mahfl-e-Mushaira were also arranged on the occasion.