BusinessDay
Charles Ogwo
March 29, 2025
In Nigeria, and many other African countries, early childhood education is being seen as merely a baby sitting stage of a child, rather than a critical phase of education and care.
The government’s lack of political and docility of entrepreneurs to invest in early childhood schools results in disjointed policies, inadequate funding and insufficient interdisciplinary support services.
Many studies show that children who spend at least two years in an early childhood education (ECE) programme before attending primary school perform better later in life.
Positive effects are seen in academic performance, social behaviour, health and even future earnings and employment.
The brain’s development is affected significantly by children’s experiences and relationships during these early years.
Gift Osikoya, a teacher, said early childhood education focuses on fostering children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.
“ECE programmes can include preschools, kindergartens, and other early learning settings. The goal of ECE is to provide a strong foundation for children’s future learning and success.
“It is a very important part of a child’s development, and strongly influences later learning,” she said.
Making ECE count in Nigeria
Osikoya said there is a great need for strong government leadership and commitment in establishing and sustainable early childhood education system that empowers children learning trajectory.
“Collaboration among government agencies, civil society organisations, and the private sector.
“Nigeria can create a transformative ECE system that leverages the power of data and technology to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive,” she said.
She urge the government to invest in data infrastructure and capacity building, and ensure there is continuous monitoring and evaluation.
Elizabeth Ohaka, an early childhood educator, said the government should increase budgetary allocation to early childhood education, and ensure it is separated from the percentage to primary education.
Besides Ohaka insists there is need to create a separate department of early childhood education in tertiary institutions to make it count in Nigeria.
“There should be adequate monitoring of schools with ECE for compliance, and training and re-training of in-service teachers.
“Early Childhood Education experts should head the departments in charge of their cause. ECE teachers only should teach in ECE classes; round pegs should go into round holes,” she said.
Read also: Jigawa votes N15.8bn for basic education sector
What other countries are doing
To ensure that early childhood education counts in China, the government is planning a step-by-step approach to making it free, aiming to reduce the burden of high child-rearing costs on households.
The government proposes a new subsidy system and work with local authorities to cover education costs for the three years before elementary school.
This is in line with Ohaka’s call for a free tuition in public schools, especially at the ECE cadre to enable parents cope.
Bulgaria and Malta are known to have traditions of giving children freedom to make choices, and encourage early childhood education.
Fundamental role of ECE in building a total child
Early childhood education is recognised as a fundamental pillar of education, requiring policies that reflect its significance in lifelong learning.
According to Charmaine Bonello, “Scientific research consistently shows that 85percent of brain development occurs in the first three years of life.”
Be that as it may, many education systems overlook this crucial period. This is when language, social and emotional foundations are formed, making high-quality early interventions essential.
This tradition highlights a broader issue in early childhood education: the control adults impose on children’s play and decision-making.
From control to empowerment
The future of education, experts say, begins in the early years. Hence, the need to ensure that every child, regardless of background, has access to the high-quality early childhood education and care they deserve.
In the face of this, Nigerian stakeholders must stop focusing on making children fit into their expectations and instead create peaceful environments that truly respect their rights, autonomy and potential.
It is a norm in Nigeria for adults to structure and direct play for children in school, deciding how and when it should happen. The system must be tweaked to move away from shaping children’s ‘becoming’ and instead focus on allowing them to ‘be’.
Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of the early years, educators working with children aged 0-5 often lack the recognition, support and professional development opportunities they deserve.
Early childhood educators shape children’s cognitive, social and emotional development, yet, they frequently face lower salaries, limited career progression and a lack of formal training pathways.
If we truly value early childhood education and care, we must also value and professionalise those who dedicate their lives to it.
Young children learn best through meaningful, hands-on experiences; yet, many educational systems continue to impose structured, adult-led activities that fail to respect children’s natural learning processes.
This statement highlights the significance of knowledge-sharing and the impact of transformative early childhood curricular approaches in diverse educational contexts.
It also emphasises the need for greater global awareness of rights-based, child-centred and socially-just pedagogies that honour children’s rights and agency in learning.
High-quality early childhood education does not operate in isolation. Interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together educators, psychologists, social workers and health professionals, is essential to ensure comprehensive support for children and families.
If we are to truly prioritise early childhood education, we must: recognise and professionalise the early years workforce; move beyond workbooks to play-based, experiential learning; acknowledge ECEC as a fundamental right, not just a service; ensure evidence-based curriculum approaches are widely understood and applied; strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration for comprehensive child support; shift from adult-led to child-led learning experiences; focus more on the first three years of life; provide free expert consultation services for young parents; and create integrated early childhood support systems for all children.
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Charles Ogwo, Head, Education Desk at BusinessDay Media is a seasoned proactive journalist with over a decade of reportage experience.
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