Education CS Fred Matiang'i. [Photo/Kenya Today]
The Ministry of Education, jointly with Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), running a pilot programme to provide pre-primary children with the knowledge and skills they require before they commence primary education in class one.
The programme, code-named, TAYARI ECDE, is a four year (2014‐2018) pilot study implemented by the Government of Kenya and respective County Governments] through technical support from the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International, and funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) to the tune of US16million dollars.
The Programme’s Project Coordinator, Dr. Evangeline Nderu, said in her Office in Nairobi yesterday, that the purpose of the initiative was to ensure pre-primary children had better foundation that made them ready for learning when they join class one.
Dr. Nderu said the pilot will provide a basis for the development of a cost‐effective and scalable Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) model that ensures pre‐primary aged children (4‐ 6 years) are ready for school and succeed in their primary schooling.
Dr. Nderu, regretted that a significant number of children from poor socioeconomic backgrounds joined class one without being ready to learn.
She said children need the requisite readiness skills and competencies in literacy, numeracy, and life skills to optimally take advantage of educational experience that primary education provides.
She said the programme projects to provide instructional materials, classroom teacher support, and health and nutrition integration to 75,000 children aged 4-6 in 1,700 ECDE centres in Laikipia, Nairobi, Siaya and Uasin Gishu Counties.
She said respective County Governments where the pilot programme was taking place were working with the programme.
Dr. Nderu said the programme will provide the framework to standardize and align the delivery of the ECDE curriculum as designed by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
She said that some ECDE teachers gave content to learners that were not developmentally appropriate to the children. She said 4 year old children were supposed to be taught to write numbers between 1-9, and count digits from one to fifty.
She, however, noted that some ECDE centres forced the children to not only write and recognise numbers from one to a hundred, but made them to undertake mathematical concepts to do with multiplications and division.
“The children cannot understand these concepts other than cramming them,” Dr. Nderu observed.
She also underscored the need to give pre-primary school children free time to play, listen to their parents or guardians tell stories, and ask them questions.
She said the idea of giving homework and examinations to children in ECDE levels distracted them from exploring the natural environment around them and also to interact with adults from whom they could learn stuff that contributes to their development.
She said adherence to Kenya School Readiness Assessment Tool (KSRAT), designed by the Ministry of education, in collaboration with UNICEF provided a holistic and standardized assessment approach for learners at pre-primary education levels in Kenya.
“Ultimately, the programme looks forward to integration of KSRAT in the teaching and learning of at ECDE levels,” Dr. Nderu said.