Miguel Sappho
Africa-Press – Angola. Strategies for the development of early childhood education and care, in light of presidential decree no. 107/24 of April 30, which approves the national policy for early childhood in Angola.
In Angola, the situation remains difficult for most children. The plight of many families, with limited access to goods and livelihoods, affects children first and foremost, as they are the weakest link.
In order to find solutions to improve the conditions of children, the Angolan authorities have, in recent times, tested the implementation of several programs, approved a lot of legislation and drafted some decrees, the latest being Presidential Decree 107/24.
When drafting Presidential Decree 107/24 of 30 April, it is understood that the President of the Republic decided not only to approve the National Policy for Early Childhood (PNPI), but also to assume the immediate implementation of actions that aim to improve the lives of children throughout the country.
The National Policy for Early Childhood (PNPI), approved by presidential decree, is a document that identifies, addresses and provides detailed guidance on the actions to be implemented within the scope of early childhood care.
Presidential Decree 107/24 is, therefore, the starting gun for the implementation of this important agenda, and it is imperative that all institutions and entities involved are pragmatic and assume their responsibilities.
Free and inclusive children’s centers, the best way to channel benefits to children.
Taking into account the socioeconomic reality of most families in Angola, which is characterized by deficiencies of all kinds, the inclusion of the pre-school education subsystem in the package of mandatory services to be provided by the state would constitute the best mechanism for the state to safely deliver the benefits it wishes to allocate to children.
The comprehensive implementation of this education subsystem has been on the authorities’ agenda in recent times, which is why studies and programs have already been prepared by the institutions involved, with emphasis on the project “Todos Unidos Pela Primeira Infância“ (TUPPI), launched in 2018 and the Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Education (PEEPI), prepared in February 2019.
The TUPPI project is a non-institutional alternative preschool education model adopted by the authorities. It aims to teach and motivate families to educate their own children who do not have access to early childhood institutions. According to widely circulated information, this project is already being implemented throughout the country, but we do not believe it will achieve much success, given the poverty experienced by many families.
The authorities justify their failure to adopt an institutional approach to implementing preschool education by the high cost of investing in infrastructure, logistics, training and hiring specialized personnel, combined with the low participation of families and communities in the teaching-learning process of their children.
Given the clear knowledge of the socioeconomic fragility of most Angolan families, combined with the lack of skills among many parents to exercise parenthood, the state is called upon to assume, during the period of family strengthening, full responsibility for the implementation and maintenance of the preschool education subsystem, using this system in harmony with other complementary institutions such as homes and boarding schools, as platforms through which it will channel the services and benefits inherent to the integral development of the child in early childhood, such as nutrition, civil registration, vaccinations, early education, etc., since the state is, in fact, the great beneficiary, which will be able to count in the immediate future on a generation of young people better prepared to face the challenges of citizenship and the development of the country with greater commitment.
The implementation of daycare centers/kindergartens, as institutions with free and mandatory attendance for all children in Angola, is the way forward, since their success will help to positively change important social indicators such as malnutrition and infant mortality, school exclusion and academic failure. Even poverty levels will be alleviated by the significant cost that will be removed from families with the state’s contribution to the support and care of their minor children.
Having the President of the Republic deliberated on such an important matter by signing and publishing Decree 107/24 of April 30, the time has come to operationalize the Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Education (PEEPI), since the implementation of its experimental phase, which in 2019 provided for the construction of 6 Children’s Centers in each of the 18 provinces, at a value not exceeding 14 million dollars and which included the training of kindergarten teachers, security guards and community facilitators, did not start due to lack of funding, it is important that there is courage and common sense and that this “dossier“ is placed at the top of the agendas and that all related entities assume their role, so that it is possible, from the outset, to conform to the Basic Law of the Education and Teaching System, in which compulsory education is only recommended from the introductory class, primary education and the first cycle of secondary education, privileging children from 5 to 12 years, leaving the most important age group uncovered, from 0 to 5, which is the fundamental period of human growth and crucial to the quality of citizens we hope to develop. All departments and related entities are called upon to collaborate so that plans, funding, training, and all necessary elements are mobilized and made available for this agenda. This program will have an immediate positive impact on families and communities upon implementation, preferably starting in areas with the greatest socioeconomic imbalances. I believe we will be proud of the positive impact it has had on our society.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
