New curriculum to focus on early childhood care, education: Shafqat

ISLAMABAD, Sep 25 (APP):Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Wednesday said the ministry has established National Curriculum Council with premier aim to focus on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

Addressing here an International Conference on Early Childhood Development, he said chapters regarding early childhood development for class one to five have been included in the new curriculum expected to be introduced by start of next years.

The government was paying special focus on education sector, he said adding that early childhood was its top priority.

The two-day International Conference on Early Childhood Development with the theme, “The Promise of Early Childhood Development – Investing in the Early Years” was kicked off at Allama Iqbal Open University.

The conference was also being organized as a result of collaboration between Pakistan Alliance for Early Childhood, Allama Iqbal Open University, Rupani Foundation, the Ministries of Federal Education and Professional Training and Planning, Development and Reform; SUN Secretariat, Nutrition Section and the Karakoram International University, Gilgit-Baltistan.

The conference was being supported by the international development partners, including World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, AFAQ, Foundation Open Society Institute and the Aga Khan Foundation.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the new curriculum would focus especially from class one to five. He underlined the need of great attention on the area of early childhood development in the country. He suggested that the early childhood care and education should be starting before the birth of a child.

By using the modern technology, Shafqat said, the government was making efforts to aware the people especially the mothers of rural areas about early childhood education and care.