THE Government wants all primary schools in the country to have early childhood education centres by 2017.

Education Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy said this in Parliament on Friday.

Dr Reddy said of the 730 primary schools in the country, 332 do not have Early Childhood Education centres but have Class 1.

With the Constitution providing the right to early childhood education, Dr Reddy said they planned to establish ECE centres in every primary school by 2017.

“We have appointed four EC advisers in the districts so that they will go and inspect the schools and advice,” he said.

“Out of the 730 primary schools, 332 do not have EC centres.

“By 2017, we want all primary schools to have an EC centre and we will assist.”

Dr Reddy said they planned to recognise the importance of ECE centres.

“It’s not only about preparing them for Year One but also identifying any deficiency they might have at an early stage so that we can give them specialised attention.”

He said before the announcement of the assistance from Government for early education, they only had 940 registered centres and this i……………. continues on Fiji Times

August 28, 2015