Towards better preschool learning

AS the Malaysian Education Blueprint enters its second phase, more focus and emphasis will be given to the quality of preschool education.

As such, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Council will be holding a series of forums which will look at the quality of preschool management, teachers, implementation of national preschool curriculum standard, parent-school interactions, as well as safety, health and nutrition.

The first forum started on March 26 in Kuala Lumpur and will be subsequently held in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu on April 23 and 30 respectively.

“There has been an increase in preschool enrolment from 81.7% in 2013 to 84.6% in 2015 and the ministry aims for such enrolment to hit 90% this year,” said Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan after opening the first ECCE forum recently.

Kamalanathan said that the National Preschool Quality Standard (SKPK) will be used by all schools across the country in order to bridge the gap in quality early education between rural and urban schools.

“SKPK ensures all urban and rural preschools in the public and private sector achieve a quality minimum standard,” he said.

SKPK is a self-assessment tool launched in 2013 to measure quality.

Through this tool, the ministry will be able to assess the quality of learning experiences and services provided by preschools.

Kamalanathan added that by assessing themselves through SKPK – which has been made mandatory by the ministry – preschools will be able to know where they stand in terms of the quality of the services provided.

In addition to this, the tool will help to identify gaps so that the operator can work towards meeting the required standard.