Mauritius among leading African countries in early childhood education and development
Bagatelle, Mauritius (PANA) – Mauritian Education and Human Resources minister, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, on Thursday, said that Mauritius is among leading countries on the African continent in early childhood education and development.
Speaking at the opening of the first Technical Meeting of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa Early Childhood Education and Development Cluster at Bagatelle, 20 km south of the capital, Port Louis, Dookun-Luchoomun highlighted the link that ensures good early childhood development between her ministry and other ministries and departments in the country.
“However, the diverse expertise of every participant in the cluster meeting is essential so as to further enhance early childhood education and development across the African continent,” she emphasised.
The minister recalled that political leaders around the world have pledged to ensure that by the end of 2030, all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for future education.
She also recalled that, last year at the Pan African high-level conference on education, African leaders reaffirmed their commitment to integrate policies pertaining to early childhood development, care, and education, as well as finance early childhood education and development programmes.
For her part, the Head of Education Division, Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology of the African Union Commission, Dr Beatrice Njenga, underlined that implementation of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa requires all stakeholders to be on board.
“The African Union Commission has established a cluster mechanism for every important thematic area. The early childhood cluster, launched six months ago, is one of the most important ones as it concerns the foundation of education and training, intellectual development, and human development in general”, she said.
The Early Childhood Education and Development Cluster meeting is being held from 21-22 March 2019 and comprises participants from 16 African countries. The key objectives of the meeting are to form a Technical Committee for the cluster with terms of references; develop the 2019-2020 work plan; and share knowledge and experience.
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