Early Childhood Care C'tees For ER Inaugurated

THE Eastern Regional Coordinator of the Ghana National Commission on Children, Anthony Dontoh, has advised parents to take up the challenges associated with the new education reform.

They should also educate their children on basic health and family issues like HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases and infections at home.

He gave the advice at the inauguration of the district’s Early Childhood Care and Development Coordinating Committees in the Eastern Region last week.

In all, committees for 14 districts were inaugurated in the region with the exception of Yilo, Manya and Afram Plains which had been on pilot basis since 2006.

Mr Dontoh said that parents have a lot to do with the introduction of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) into the mainstream education because the number of children in the classroom would be doubled.

He called on all stakeholders especially parents to cooperate with the teachers who are going to take charge of the various schools in the country.

Giving an overview of Ghana’s ECD policy, Gyaba Mensah, chairman of Eastern Regional Ghana National Association of Teachers and the Early Childhoold Development Policy, said that the policy was to address the poor situation of children in the country and to streamline the activities of all stakeholders in Early Childhood Development.

'It was to attract support from all stakeholders who have the resources for the sector and promote the survival, growth and development of all young children in Ghana,' he said.

Mr Mensah said that one of the greatest benefits of the ECD to the communities is that, it would improve efficiency, better health attention through the integration of services and changed user practices.

'It will reduce repetition and drop-out rates in school,' he added, and appealed to all stakeholders to give proper attention to the Early Childhood Care and Development because it would benefit everybody in the country.