Parents advised on pre-schools

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Thursday January 21, 2010 00:00

According to an official at the Department of Pre and Primary Education at the Ministry of Education, Grace Seetso, parents often get to sign contracts with schools under policy terms, which they are not familiar with, and this later results in conflicts.

Schools opened last week with some parents taking their children to preschools for the first time. In an interview with Mmegi on advice for such parents, Seetso stated that a pre school may not be a place where formal education is imparted but it is definitely a place where children have their first taste of independence.

Today with both parents working, preschool is becoming an inevitable part of a child's life. According to Seetso, children are exposed to a lot of basic preschool learning activities that help them get independent faster.

She said these preschool activities help develop in children, many self help qualities like eating food themselves, dressing up, maintaining cleanliness and other such basic things.

Besides this, Seetso said preschool learning activities help the children learn basic etiquette like exchanging greetings, sharing food and toys and identifying their possessions. One big advantage is that as children interact with others their own age, they tend to develop their language skills at a fast pace with more vocabularies, to their credit.

However the big question has been what is the right age to send a child to preschool or crche as they are normally called. Seetso said children might be sent to a centre as early as from birth especially by working mothers who have no baby carers.  'The Early Childhood Care and Education Policy controls all Early Childhood Care & Education facilities of ages 0-6years,' she said.

She explained that the intention is not merely teaching and learning but includes early stimulation, which also applies to babies. For a child she said, even being taught how to feed themselves, walk; coo sounds for language is part of learning. 'It is required that teachers should be qualified.  Also schools must have learning frameworks for all age groups,' she said.

Seetso pointed out that some children do not have a family structure to grow up in.  In some cases she explained that the home might not provide enough for the child.  Some grow up in orphanages, foster homes and other environments.  The important thing is a positive environment to stimulate the child, provide good nutrition, enjoy play and availability of space to sleep and rest when tired, she said.

The biggest challenge for parents now becomes searching for the best preschool to place their children in. However many make the mistake of registering their children over the phone.

However Seetso advices, parents must first find out if the facility has met all policy standards, both indoors and outdoors.  It also has to have qualified personnel. Above all she explained that it has to be registered with the relevant authority and issued a permit/license, which has to be conspicuously displayed for all potential customers/parents to see. 

'Parents may also be attracted by extras like a swimming pool and other extra activities which the school offers that may interest the child,' Seetso said. 

She also stated that before registering the child, parents must know the school policy, which usually has certain terms and conditions.  She said often parents get to sign contracts with schools under policy terms, which they are not familiar with, and these later result in conflicts. 'Parents must be allowed to take a tour of the school, and maybe even with the child to satisfy themselves that the child will be comfortable in it,' she said.