MUSANZE - ActionAid Rwanda last week launched an early childhood education campaign specifically for rural nursery schools.

The two-day campaign, which was launched in Shingiro sector, Musanze district, is part of the activities to mark this year’s Global Campaign on Education- meant to rally financial support and promote early childhood education.

Joel Nsengiyumva, the Programme Manager, ActionAid Rwanda, noted there is urgent need to sensitize the public, encourage the government and development partners to support childhood education -because it helps children to develop their personalities, talents as well as mental and physical abilities.

The government adopted the Early Childhood Education system which has encouraged communities to have a functioning nursery school in each administrative cell, with some schools benefiting through Ubudehe.

However, parents say rural nursery schools lack qualified teachers, infrastructure, and instructive materials which largely affect their performance. 

"Early childhood education can’t be left to parents alone especially those in rural areas where poverty levels are high, the Millennium development goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015 requires investment in early childhood education,” Nsengiyumva observed.

"This should go with developing a comprehensive policy that caters for allocation of funds to train and pay teachers, build infrastructure and provision of textbooks.”  

The District Education Officer, Fidel Nzigira, said that the district is encouraging parents to sustain the nursery schools by properly bringing up their children and involving proper teachers who understand child development.

During the launch, also attended by local district and sector leaders, teachers and parents held a public debate on the importance of early childhood education, challenges and solutions.

As part of its education intervention, ActionAid last year constructed seven classrooms at Gikoro Primary School, distributed 712 desks, 37 staff chairs, 55 office tables, and 37 bookshelves at Kibwa, Nyamurimirwa, Muhingo and Gokoro primary schools.

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