The early years of every child are very important in their education; thus the experiences and the learning of a child in early years can support them in their entire life.
It is vitally clear that children develop rapidly during this time be it physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally.
All children, therefore, should be given the opportunity to experience the very best possible start to their education.
In The Gambia, nursery education which should provide a foundation for a lifetime of learning and give kids fun too, is not accessible to all children.
Early child-hood centres are mainly privately owned, and mostly concentrated in cities and towns, and the rest of the country do not have them at all.
The first seven years in the life of an individual are very important, so that we cannot continue to ignore the realities of prioritising nursery education.
The government must work towards providing nursery education just like it builds primary, upper basic and senior schools across the country.
A good number of countries in the sub-region have realised that the education given during these years of a child’s life plays a very important role, and helps in proper development of children.
As such, these countries make it a priority and ensure that every child begin their education in nursery school.
It has been observed that many students who began their schooling at the nursery level most often perform well, better than those who just started their education at the primary level.
We, therefore, call on the education authorities to revisit the country’s education curriculum to adequately cater for the needs of all children in the country.
Since early child-hood education is the key element that helps in building a good foundation for child’s educational success, we recommend that it be given more priority.
