A former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, on Thursday called on the Federal Government to invest in early childhood education as a long-term strategy toward revamping the economy and improving the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Ezekwesili made the call in Port Harcourt while speaking at an education conference, organised by the union of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta (BRACED) states.
?She said that the early childhood education should not be an opportunity available only to the elite but to every Nigerian child irrespective of social status.
According to her, early child education has become a priority in countries that have achieved all-round development.
“Early child care education has become priority in countries that outperform others.
Early child care education cannot be the opportunity available only to the elite families.
“The reasons, early child care is what gives the children a head start and the age of 2 to 3 is a determinant of the cognitive capacity of a child; their capacity of social interaction and their capacity for entrepreneurship, once that is missed, something got lost.
“Early child care, Mr Governor, would need to be a regional priority.” Cue out audio Ezekwesili also said that education had a direct relationship with the economic growth of a country.
“What do we know about the role of education for economic growth?
A very strong link has been established and for centuries, it has been studied that as in a formal classroom school system that has been the predominant way of organising formal education throughout the 20th century, economic growth, which is defined as monetary aggregate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), increases as more citizens are offered the opportunity for education.
?“Considering that GDP is what measures the economic performance of industrial societies, it follows that no industrialised country achieved that status without a strong focus of investment in education for majority of its citizens.
Ezekwesili said that one of the reasons for Nigeria’s low GDP was the operation of a mono-cultured economy, which was over-dependent on oil.
There is need for awareness on the importance of supporting quality Early child care and education in Nigeria. The quality of every child is a total of his exposure and the early years are so vital when the child’s brain is forming. Informed early childhood practitioners can be helpful in fostering the quality that can support a lifelong learning and development in children.
In a broader term, poverty can be tackled at early childhood, if we as a nation commit ourselves, and resources to it. Studies have been done with backed evidence to prove that investments in the early years multiplies gains in a nations economy.
Another very important factor is the professional training of early childhood workforce. there is need to put in a purposeful establishment to train those who will implement the policies.
I join you madam on this course, as much as my ability carries me.