Olofeya: Remedy to early childhood education?

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA

DOES the word 'Olofeya' ring a bell to the old school that had an opportunity to sample from the great innovation?

Certainly, the popular 'Olofeya' were the most happening centres 'cum' nursery schools during the pre-independence era and the Kaunda days.

Evarist Chilufya of Lusaka shares an insight of how it was like attending welfare centres, as they were rightly called.

"These were places which were mostly found in compounds countrywide where children could go to and learn various sports disciplines," Mr Chilufya said.

Mr Chilufya said the welfare centres were manned by social welfare officers from government. "One other thing that attracted children to these centres was that we used to be given food like porridge and soup, and that welfare centres enabled many to identify their talents," he said.

By design, the welfare centres were meant to keep children in the townships busy and to keep them away from engaging in any mischief.

These places helped children to identify their talents and craft their interests towards what they loved.

Despite the great importance attached to these centres, they were later discontinued due to the collapse in the economy in the late 1980s.

And with the coming of the MMD into government in 1991, many sectors of the economy were liberalised and the early education sector was one of those that went into the hands of non-state actors (private sector).

A number of private early learning centres mushroomed in suburban areas which only catered for the elite.

This trend saw the margin widening between children from different social backgrounds.

Eventually, children from poor families were forced to abandon the early education system due to exorbitant fees that were charged.

Perhaps this is where the notion was introduced in Zambia that a child should begin Grade One at the age of seven.

However, early childhood education, which targets children below the age of six, sets that this is the critical stage for a child's growth, survival and development.

It is a period where a brain of a child develops rapidly; where talking, walking, self-esteem and vision of the world and moral foundation are developed.

As a result, the early childhood education learning remained in private hands, leading to poor and uncoordinated service delivery especially with the mushrooming of nurseries in peri-urban areas, with only 18.2 percent of children having early childhood education experience at Grade One entrance.

Zambia National Educational Coalition executive director Grace Manyonga observes that there has been low access to early childhood education services due to host factors including government's involvement in service delivery.

Ms Manyonga said it is also unfortunate that most early learning centres are pre-dominantly offering pre-schooling and not holistic early learning programmes.

However, the 2011-2016 Patriotic Front manifesto aims at streamlining operations of the early childhood education with a view to providing early childhood education teachers in all local government wards in Zambia.

To cap it all, 1,000 early education teachers were last year employed and deployed countrywide. And this year, Government rolled out the early childhood education centres in all provinces of the country.

The Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education has also given an assurance that children from poor homes will be given an opportunity to benefit from early childhood education as it provides the best foundation for children, especially for the future.

According to the Ministry of Education, early childhood education is not meant to teach children how to speak English but to provide them with skills necessary to develop their understanding.

And Media Network for Child Rights and Development executive director Henry Kabwe said like welfare centres, the early learning centres should include talent identification among children.

It is important that Government picks up the best strategies and methods that existed during the 'welfare' days and try to infuse them in modern nursery schools to make them effective for the Zambian child.