Education Ministry Presents School Readiness Program for 5-Year-Olds

UNICEF and the Ministry of Education and Science presented a new preschool program to media and education specialists this week which aims to give young children the opportunity to mature, in all developmental areas, another year prior to starting school as well as to learn skills that will enable them to achieve success in the education system.　

Early childhood education is of paramount importance for every child as it lays the foundation for further growth and development. Investment in early childhood development improves not only the health, learning and protection of young children, but also economic growth in the country over the medium and long term.

“International studies have shown that a child who has preschool education is less likely to drop out from school and three times more likely to end up in the top 10 percent of the 14 year olds in school achievement,” said Sascha Graumann, UNICEF Representative in Georgia. “As adults, they have higher earnings and are less likely to depend on social assistance.

“Investment in Early Childhood Development impacts not only the health, wellbeing and protection of young children but also contributes to the economic growth of the country and, according to some studies, it contributes to up to seven times a return on investment in the long term.”

Children up to the age of six learn best in environments which encourage play and nurture strong relationships between the child and the educator and between the school and the family, and which provide an abundance of play and learning material, as well as a mix of structured and unstructured activities.　 　

The main idea of the School Readiness Program is:

- to promote learning by play and individual approach so that children’s individual needs and interests are better considered;

- to support the development of socio-emotional and critical thinking skills that will help children to be prepared for the challenges of the schooling year where the learning process is more structured, considering obedience to new types of rules;

- to realize the potential of every child based on his/her development, age, interests and needs and to create equal opportunities for all children throughout Georgia.

The recent Public Defender’s Office Monitoring Report on Preschool Institutions (2015) identified systemic flaws in the areas of quality, access and violation of children’s rights in the preschool education sector. Psychological violence against children was observed in 70 percent of the monitored preschool institutions, while cases of physical violence against children were revealed in 40 percent of institutions. Only 20 percent of institutions had safe and adequate infrastructure and physical environment. The report also emphasizes the low qualification of the teaching workforce, which is negatively reflected in their ability to provide child-centered inclusive education. These major issues emphasize the importance of introducing a legal framework that creates a stronger system to improve the preschool education sector.

“The Law on Early and Pre-school Education is in its draft form at present and will create a legal framework for the School Readiness Program,” said Eka Beselia, Member of Parliament. The Law is expected to be submitted to Parliament in the autumn session.

“Pre-school education is not currently functioning as it should,” Beselia lamented. “Children need to be better prepared for school. There should be one standard across the board. The report [Public Defender’s Office Monitoring Report on Preschool Institutions (2015)] is a hard pill to swallow but these are issues which are being dealt with, and dealt with quickly.”

It is important that in addition to municipal monitoring, the relevant central agencies monitor the implementation of the education, sanitation and hygiene, infrastructure, and nutrition standards. Classroom sizes should not exceed the range of 15-22 children respectively for different age groups, and to this aim the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office, represented at the press conference by Deputy Mayor Irakli Lekvinadze, announced the planned opening of six new kindergartens in the Tbilisi Municipality by autumn　in hopes that the many children currently without placement opportunities will at last be allowed access to the kindergarten system.

Tamar Sanikidze, Minister of Education and Science of Georgia highlighted the voucher aspect of the new program whereby those kindergartens unable to accommodate children could allocate free access vouchers to parents to register their children in private kindergartens, funded by the Ministry of Education and Science. It is not clear at this time, however, how exactly it will be decided who will receive such vouchers.

“We are not a Ministry for experimentation with risks,” Minister Sanikidze said. “The necessary infrastructure is in place to make this program work.”

She refuted the direct responsibility of the Ministry, however, when questioned on the readiness of regional kindergartens, some of whom, with over 40 children in a class to two care-givers, are clearly not ready for the extra responsibility of a structured pre-school system.

“Since July last year UNICEF has been supporting the Ministry of Education and Science [of Georgia] to develop the School Readiness curriculum based on Early Learning and Development Standards, a School Readiness manual and activity book for educators, and training modules to ensure teachers are ready to support the children,” said UNICEF’s Graumann. “It is important that municipalities understand and introduce the program at the local level. For the successful implementation of the program overall monitoring should stay with the Ministry of Education and Science. All children should have equal opportunities to enjoy a free and universal School Readiness Program that will help them to better succeed in school.”

A further issue of contention is the status of kindergarten caregivers, pointed out by Member of Parliament, Gia Jorjoliani, who emphasized that the minimum remuneration of kindergarten teachers should equate to the minimum salary of primary school teachers to reflect their training. Minister Sanikidze confirmed that there are plans in this direction.

This author, being the mother of three young children, two of whom are currently in the state kindergarten system with one the right age to be eligible for the new pre-school program, has high hopes for the future, though low expectations of how soon the developments will realistically and effectively take place.

Katie Ruth Davies