DEVELOPMENT OF COSTED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: ADSUBEB/UNICEF organize ECCDE advocacy meeting

Adamawa State Government has reemphasized its resolve in partnering UNICEF towards ensuring the realization of all programs and policies that support the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of children right from birth under the Early Childhood Care, Development, and Education - ECCDE.

Commissioner of Education and Human Capital Development IN Adamawa State, Dr. Umar Garba Pella, made the statement while speaking at a two-day ECCDE advocacy meeting and development of costed implementation plan for the Early Childhood Care, Development, and Education minimum standard and policy, organized by the Adamawa State Universal Basic Education Board, in collaboration of UNICEF which took place in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

 

“It is important that the basic literacy programmes should be something a child would be conversant with at the very early age so that every other thing should just be a work over. However, if a child misses those basic things: basic literacy, basic numeracy at that stage, ah, that is part of what are grabbling with till the end. I am assuring you as a Ministry, I will lead in this process, we will continue to advocate, that in our collective interest as a people so that our children are mapped early and brought into conventional institutions for early learning.”   

 

In her address of welcome, Chief Field Office UNICEF Bauchi, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, explained that ECCDE is not just about preparing children for school, but also about setting a strong, healthy, and equitable foundation for their entire lives, meaning that investing in ECCDE is one of the most effective ways to ensure a better future for individuals and societies.

 

“These are the children of Adamawa, I am really grateful for your presence and your contributions towards early childhood education because this is a very key area that is going to give a very productive, healthy and excellent next generation to Nigeria. UNICEF always stands by the rights of children and we want every child, even the most vulnerable, most deprived, most marginalized to have access to all their rights, and Early Childhood Care, Development, and Education happens to be one of the main rights of every child. So we are all together in this, UNICEF holds hands with everyone who works for the children.”    

  

In an overview of Early Childhood Education in Nigeria and conceptual framework for pre-primary education, an education specialist with UNICEF Nigeria, Yetunde Oluwatosin, revealed that ECCDE is crucial to the Nigerian education system as it builds a strong foundation for learning, addresses socio-economic inequalities, and aligns with national and international development priorities.

 

“We’ve called this meeting as an advocacy avenue for us to reach the various stakeholders in Adamawa State to make them more aware for the benefits and importance of Early Childhood Education. This is a type of education that we give to children in the earliest years. It is a very critical and important foundation for them where we support them to get ready for school, and also to ensure they achieve the required pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills such that when they get to Primary 1, which we expect that they get into at the right age as prescribed by the national policy – they are there, ready to start, ready to learn, ready to interact with other children of their age, ready to interact with their teachers, of course coming from the home environment where their parents, the community members, the leaders would have prepared them and helped them to get ready to learn.”

An Early Childhood Care Education specialist with the Federal College of Education (Technical) Gombe, Dr. Asabe Isma’ila, posited that the significance of ECCDE is very vast as it is a foundation for lifelong learning coupled with the fact that the early childhood is a critical period for brain development, as it lays the groundwork for academic success, emotional well-being, and social skills.

 

“After the advocacy, we are expecting to have government commitment, we will also have a sub-head of ECCDE in Adamawa State, we also have to put in mechanism for the sustainability of the programme even when UNICEF leaves; let it not going to be a shadow of itself. Let there be a sustainability, let there be a budget to fund the areas specifically, not just a basic education, we want it to be specified that this money is meant for ECCDE in Adamawa State. Just like we have the TPD where we have a particular percentage that is allocated to ECD, even their trainings are done separately because of the advocacy that was ones done in 2015. So we are believing that at the end of this workshop, things will change for better in Adamawa State.”

Adamawa State Chairperson, High Level Women Advocates (HILWA) – a strategy put together by UNICEF to advocate for women and girls education; Jiddere Musa Kaibo, stressed that ECCDE is very timely because they have all admitted how important is the programme, noting that they should also remember that they would not be there all the time, adding that definitely others will take over from them, asking that these children that are coming up, how prepared are they to take over from them.

 

“According to the Honourable Commissioner, parents deliver a child to the world, but the community raises the child. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening, and we will like to push for, and advocate with parents at all levels: the government level, the community level, to say that this is the right way to do it. So for HILWA, I stand to commit to you on behalf the members to ensure that we are going to be there and engage with the right persons, at the right level to be able to achieve what we have come here to do today.”

 

The objectives of the gathering are to increase understanding among government stakeholders about the importance and benefits of investing in play-based ECCDE; advocate for increased budget allocations and sustainable financing mechanisms for ECCDE; and to develop a costed implementation plan for the ECCDE national policy, outlining specific actions, timelines, and budgetary requirements.  

 

The implementation of ECCDE in Nigeria has had a positive impact across educational, social, and economic dimensions. The major impact includes improved school readiness and learning outcomes, increased enrollment in basic education, reduction in gender disparity, and support for parental involvement. Others are development of holistic child skills, contribution to national human capital development, employment and economic opportunities, and community engagement and awareness as well.

 

However, to fully realize the potentials of the ECCDE, Nigeria must address issues of access, quality, funding, and teacher training, because strengthening ECCDE is essential for building a more educated, equitable, and prosperous nation.

 

The implementation of ECCDE in Nigeria is ongoing and multi-faceted, with progress made in policy development, curriculum design, and institutional support. However, community engagement is strictly needed - specially to reach the most vulnerable children in rural and underserved communities.