A case for scheme of service for ECDE teachers
When we were growing up, the teaching profession was revered. It needed passion, dedication and commitment to be a teacher.
Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) can be classified as a calling because one needs dedication and passion to handle the little angels that parents entrust with the teachers.
However, this cadre of teachers is also one of the most neglected. Prior to the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, ECDEs were under the Ministry of Education. But this changed with the advent of devolution as they were handed over to county governments.
This was a major setback because the history of early childhood education in Kenya is replete with hits and misses. Many will recall that these institutions were scattered all over with some domiciled in faith institutions, primary schools and those lucky enough were stand alone.
This complicates infrastructure investment and the allocation of resources such as building age-appropriate classrooms and toilets leading to a disagreement over who is responsible for hiring teachers or even how much they should earn.
While the provision of ECDE was passed to counties in 2013, it was not matched with clear quality standards and policy approaches.
Neither was it matched with resources as budgetary allocations shrunk when these institutions were luedmp together with Technical and Vocational institutions (TVETs).
The crux of the matter, however, remains the ratio of teachers to pupils. While the Teachers Service Commission had the role of recruiting ECDE teachers prior to 2013, counties have failed in exercising this responsibility. It is no surprise that there is a huge disparity in teacher to learners ratio in ECDEs.
Few counties have a working scheme for these teachers and therefore no salary scheme for them.
During the electioneering period, teacher unions and associations were wooed by the two main coalitions. None of them had time for teachers in ECDE category.
Parents should take a keen interest on how ECDEs are run by counties because they are critical in the development of their children’s education.
According to research by Theirworld, a global charity organisation that rallies governments to advance the interests of children and women, children’s participation in ECDE improves long-term cognitive and socioeconomic skills, improving labour market outcomes.
The research further indicates that ECDE improves life chances, with 47 per cent of children who attend high-quality ECDE finding skilled employment later in life compared to the 27 per cent who don’t.
“Investing in early childhood education delivers significant economic returns resulting in gains for families, communities and economies. In Sub-Sahara Africa, it is estimated that for every dollar spent towards tripling pre-primary education enrollment would yield a $33 return on investment,” the research says.
Theirworld has been pushing county governments to invest at least 10 per cent of their education budgets on early childhood education as a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure all children receive two years of quality pre-primary education by 2030.
An analysis of budget data by UNICEF in the Eastern Africa region has identified that Kenya has the lowest investment in pre-primary education at just 1.8 per cent of its education budget compared to Rwanda (7.7 per cent), Tanzania (6 per cent), Zimbabwe (2 per cent) and Ethiopia (1.9 per cent).
The theme for this year’s World Teachers Day is appropriately titled The transformation of education begins with teachers.
No one has worked their fingers off like teachers to finally get our education back on track after the Covid-19 pandemic while overseeing the transition from the 8-4-4 system to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
In 2021, teachers hardly rested in their bid to catch up with the syllabus. Thanks to their efforts, come January, the school calendar will be back on track.
As teachers worldwide commemorate their big day tomorrow, a lot is expected from them on transforming the education system.
— The writer is an early childhood education advocate
