allAfrica.com: Mauritius: New bill sets strict norms for pre-primary schools (Page 1 of 1)

Parliament is expected to adopt a new bill to 'harmonise' pre-primary early next year. This has become a must so as to give the same opportunities to all children before primary school begins.

The staff of Snoopy pre-primary school organised a show by the pupils last Wednesnay at Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Moka. This is part of the extra-curricular activities aimed at helping children to blosson.

The same approach in all pre-primary schools will soon occur. The ministry of Education wants to go as quickly as possible with the new Early Childhood Care and Education Bill. It may be introduced in Parliament early next year so that all pre-school centres for children between 0 and 8 years old report to a single authority - the Early Childhood Care and Education Authority (ECCEA).

This authority has become necessary because all pre-primary centres felt they could act according to their own wishes, which does not always guarantee a good start for the school career of all children. This new bill is aimed at putting all pre-schools in Mauritius on the same level as those abroad - thus corresponding to international norms.

Cyril Dalais, adviser at the ministry of Education and very involved in enhancing early childhood care, made it clear at a workshop some months ago that the most important thing at pre-primary level is that "children learn to learn and should be led to take charge of themselves" . The main objective of pre-primary schooling should in no way be to teach reading, writing and numeracy. Teachers should adopt a more holistic approach so that they can help the child socialise as well as be ready for primary school.

However, to achieve such an ideal goal, teachers must be trained. This is why the new bill will include new requirements for teachers wishing to teach at pre-primary level. The Higher School Certificate will be a must - as will be a special training course defined by the new bill. Even those who are already teaching will have to be retrained so that they meet the new requirements.

With more than 1,000 public and private pre-primary schools, all children should have access to this sector at an early age. The problem is not about getting access but rather making sure that the education provided in all the schools is more or less of the same quality and gives the same chances to all young pupils when they move up into primary schools. The whole school career of a child depends a lot on his or her first contact with school and it is very important that it should be positive. "There will be no knowledge hub without proper early childhood care," warned Cyril Dalais.

Going to school for the first time might be a traumatising experience for the child if it is not handled properly and this why teachers need to be specially trained for it. It is not a question of replacing the parents but rather of assisting the child in his or her development and being able to offer something additional to him/her.

Help strengthen "Bridging the Gap"

The new ECCEA should also help strengthen the "Bridging the Gap" initiative to help children deal with the step between pre-primary school and primary school. The new authority will indeed make sure children are given proper care and education until the age of eight - which is approximately in Standard III. Many primary teachers complain about the huge differences between pupils coming from various pre-school centres and this authority should help to improve this situation.

Just as it will also tackle a more down-to-earth issue which is the tariffs of these centres that vary quite a lot at the moment. 'Harmonisation' will also include this delicate question

35TH ANNIVERSARY

> OMEP deplores the lack of activities in pre-primary schools

Subjects such as art, music and sports are badly neglected in most local pre-primary schools. The role of leisure as a contribution to child development is not given enough consideration," insists Somoo Valayden, president of the Mauritian branch of OMEP. He also thinks that children should be kept busy in terms of extra-curricular activities whether it is every afternoon after school, during holidays or even during weekends. OMEP is looking to contribute to this in several ways. "The starting point in this is the training of those who are willing to become 'facilitators' in pre-primary schools," adds the President of OMEP. Emmanuel Dessaux who is working as a support partner with OMEP, shares the same point of view. He says: "Whenever someone wishes to be recruited as a facilitator, he or she comes out with 'I want to be a facilitator because I love dealing with children'. But it is not only about loving the kids! It is about contributing to their development." Moreover, according to him, the children should feel at ease expressing themselves in events such as plays, as the main objective should be their involvement, irrespective of performance. Rosy Jia Young Ching, rector of Snoopy (a pre-primary school in Curepipe) believes that if more extra-curricular activities were to be organized this would help the children in various ways. "It would help the children to blossom, to overcome their shyness and to learn to respect the rules established by a group," explains the rector of Snoopy.

Last Saturday, the Mauritian branch of OMEP celebrated its 35th anniversary in style by organizing a show with more than 500 children from 15 different pre-primary schools from different parts of the island participating. This international non-governmental organization's main objective is to promote early childhood education throughout the island and provide facilities to teachers in this sector. So far, around 300 pre-primary schools are affiliated to it. Throughout its existence, it has made some great achievements such as opening approximately 100 pre-primary schools and training over 1800 Mauritian teachers in the modern methods of pre-primary education.

V.T.

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