Long-Term Benefits To Good Early Childhood Education

By Nabilah Saleh KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Bernama) -- "Spend today and invest in our children, you will reap the benefits later on." The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak stated this at the inaugural PERMATA International Conference (PIC) 2016 recently to indicate the importance of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Najib in his speech also stated his full support of PERMATA, a programme that is the brainchild of his wife Rosmah Mansor. PERMATA specialises in ECEC from the toddler stage to adolescence in the country, as it believes that ECEC plays a crucial role in providing a child with a brighter future. Najib believed that investing in ECEC could bring long-term benefits and positive outcomes to a child, as it was less costly than having to take remedial measures later on in life. "Because if a person is strong, if a person can make the right choice, if a person is imbued with strong values, is emotionally stable and psychologically strong and is infused with the right knowledge, then that person is not likely to become a drug addict or a criminal, nor present social ills and problems to society. "So, you are spending less later on. And, as the Finance Minister, when I hear spend less later, it means it's a smart decision to make," said the Prime Minister in front of some 1,900 delegates from 29 countries around the world who attended the three-day conference. Themed 'Children Beyond Tomorrow', PIC 2016 serves as a platform to share good practices and initiatives in children's education. This is promoted through PERMATA's seven programmes - Permata Negara, Permata Pintar, Permata Seni, Permata Insan, Permata Kurnia, Perkasa Remaja and the Permata Children's Hospital. INVEST EARLY A Professor of Human Development from the University of Oxford, Edward Melhuish echoed the importance of ECEC, as proven in a number of studies done in the United Kingdom. "The world is changing. The scale of successful economies is getting greater and greater all the time. "We wouldn't even know what the jobs are going to be in the future but we are definitely aware it is going to be high-skilled jobs that need adaptability. "These children are needed to be able to learn new skills and be highly adaptable. When they learn more easily, develop better skills and become more adaptable, this will make them better fitted for the world of tomorrow," Melhuish told Bernama, after presenting his research entitled 'Policy for Early Childhood and the Wealth of Nations' at the conference. He added that those characteristics that could be developed through good ECEC programmes would not just help the children but boost a country's economic growth as well. The benefits of investing in ECEC could easily outweigh the cost. However, it could take some time before the "return of investment" could be seen. "We did an economic analysis on this and found that the benefits pay back the cost. However, you will need to wait 10 years, therefore be patience is necessary. "When you have good quality of ECEC, the country will definitely do better," said Melhuish, who has done various researches on understanding social and communicative development from birth to adulthood. His research also included environmental influences through the use of longitudinal studies. ECEC IN MALAYSIA Describing the situation in Malaysia, Early Childhood Practitioner Dr Putri Afzan Maria Zulkifli said Malaysia had surprisingly not focused on such ECEC scopes in the past decade. She said this was in contrast to the current growing awareness of the role of ECEC in providing better childhood experiences for Malaysian kids. She called for better focus on the effort by the government and parents themselves. "Ten years ago, nobody understood why I wanted to further my studies in ECE. Some were even sarcastic about my choice in further education," she recalled. "However, with the existence of PERMATA, spearheaded by the Prime Minister's wife, Malaysia finally has the chance to experience a better education system for children as young as three," she said. Putri Afzan Maria is also the founder of KinderKaizen, a play-based enrichment programme established since July 2014. PERMATA currently adopts a community-based integrated approach practiced by UK's Pen Green Corby, which she saw as a good start. CHILDREN BEYOND TOMORROW Melhuish believed Malaysia had a lot of potential in ECEC growth. He recommended that the country emulate the UK government's policy on ECEC, which provides for 15 hours of free early childhood education a week. This has benefitted over 95 percent of three to four-year-olds in the region. "Malaysia can begin implementing the 15-hour-per-week (free ECEC place) policy and improve it on that yearly," he said, adding that such policies would often need to be revamped and might take years before it could be implemented smoothly. Melhuish added that in the UK, the government has also provided a guide on delivering quality integrated education and care for children from birth to age six, as well as reformed regulatory framework to raise quality. IT NATION She noted that although ECEC programmes are gaining popularity in the country, there are still many young parents who are struggling with the do's and don'ts of parenting. Their struggles are compounded by the vastly differing world than that they knew as children themselves. This is especially true when it comes to the development and ubiquitous influence of technological advancements. This makes it crucial to equip the new generation with the ability to make the right choice when accessing information on the Internet. Putri Afzan Maria said this was when parenting style mattered. "Children are children. What changes them is not them, but the parenting style. "How these parents portray their lives on social media need to be tackled first in order to equip them the knowledge of how to keep their children safe from gadget dangers," said the mother of five. She said good parenting was very important in an age when noble values were diminishing and social problems among children were on the rise. Although the PERMATA and its programmes are excellent initiatives, it is not enough to prepare the younger generation for the challenges of tomorrow. Every single person in society must collaborate with one another and play their part in developing children to their greatest abilities, as this can benefit them and contribute to a nation's strength. As Franklin Roosevelt said, "We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future". --BERNAMA