Early childhood Development, necessary investment for children

Bolgatanga, Nov. 23, GNA - The Ministry of Women and Children (MOWAC= ) has started a re-orientation exercise in the Upper East Region for early childhood care givers to enhance their knowledge and responsiveness to Ea= rly Childhood Care Development (ECCD) in the region.

The workshop was necessitated following recommendations from a recen= t stakeholders meeting to re-orient core teams in ECCD to ensure quality ca= re provision in pre schools. Mr Israel Akrobortu, Assistant Programme Officer, Department of Child= ren (DoC), said the exercise targeted the nine Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies. He said Ghana's efforts at ensuring the survival, development and protection of children between zero and eight years was very important. Madam Rose Akanson, the Regional ECCD Coordinator, said early childh= ood enrolment was essential since children between the ages of four and five years were the right ages for kindergarten enrolment.

She said parents who enrolled less than four-year old children did n= ot allow the children to adjust and benefit fully from curriculum designed f= or the children. Mad Akanson said early enrolment helped the care givers to detect any=

disabilities and health problems the children might be having and prepare= d the child to develop interest in formal education. 23 Nov 10