Abstract

Pre-primary education is one of the most important and basic stages of education. The study focuses on the impact of pre-primary education on children to ensure quality education, as part of the fulfillment of the commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. This study has been conducted based on a social survey (n=60) in Bangladesh's Sylhet city by using explanatory and descriptive research methods. Results delineated that majority of the respondents consider that pre-primary education is important for children’s early age learning to compete in this changing world and ensure better communication for young children. But they also argued that in government schools, there is a lack of infrastructural facilities, funds, number of teachers, and teaching materials in proportion to students to provide lessons properly. So, the government and concerned authority should reduce problems and increase facilities for a good teaching environment at the pre-primary level.

1. Introduction

Education plays a vital role in this modern and competitive world as it is the backbone of a nation ¹. It is a lifelong process that starts with the mother’s womb and continues till tomb. The foundation of education starts from one's very early childhood which is called pre-primary education ². Pre-primary education is an enjoyable education system at the preparatory level of the under 5+ children to adopt and adjust with their future education stage and to reduce the school phobia ³. It is an initial preparation of education under 3+ or 5+ children (before their primary education starts) to make the resource for the development of the country as well as monumental for children's cognitive, mental, and other developments.

Pre-primary education is usually divided into two stages: kindergarten/ nursery/playgroup for children of 3-5 years; and pre-primary or kindergarten for children aged 5-6 years. A leading concern for the development of pre-primary education was the convention on the rights of the child by the General Assembly of the UN (United Nations) in 1989. As a result of the convention, most countries realized the importance of pre-primary education and have worked for ensuring universal pre-primary education for giving children a better start of life ⁴.

The education sector was one of the priorities of government under different regimes and brought about reforms in education policy by keeping pace with the targets and signatories.

The constitution adopted after independence in 1972 was the first initiative to guarantee basic education for all to obliterate illiteracy within the shortest possible time. According to article 17 (Part-II: Fundamental Principles of State Policy) of the constitution of the people's republic of Bangladesh: The state shall take effective measures for -(a) establishing a uniform, mass-oriented and universal system of education and extending free and compulsory education to all the children to such stage as may be determined by law, (b) relating education to the needs of society and producing properly trained and motivated citizens to serve those needs; (c) removing illiteracy within such time as may be determined by law.^{1}

The government launched the Pre-Primary Education (PPE) program by introducing “baby classes” before primary for children under six years old, under the Second Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP II) ⁵. This is primarily the result of evidence-based support done by national and international NGOs highlighting the importance of quality pre-primary education for children's development ⁶. But it did not provide much attention and included in the first National Plan of Action. The government also decided to introduce gradually one-year pre-primary education all over the country under PEDP-3 by providing a certain amount of money, created 37, 672 posts of assistant teachers, and providing training to teachers ⁷. One of the important initiatives for the development of pre-primary education in Bangladesh was a program initiated by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education in 2008 for establishing a building or center, supervising those, providing teachers for pre-primary level, etc ⁸.

Most importantly, to meet the global challenges of the 21st century, education is perceived as an important tool for knowledge-based society and acts as an investment for creating human capital to bring about social change and overall development ⁹. In Bangladesh, Pre-Primary Education (PPE) has been adopted which is mainly the developmental and educational support and it is provided to the child in the age range of 3 to <6 years without considering the child's physical, mental and social status ⁵. It was also a collaborative effort by the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), particularly Bangladesh Early Childhood Development Network (BEN), and was taken up for implementation in 2010 under Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP II) after approval by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) ^{6, 10}. Later, in the National Education Policy, 2010 pre-primary education (PPE) had been included as part of universal primary education making one-year education mandatory for children age 5, before entering grade-1 of primary school ⁵. Historically, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) were in the forefront and a big number of pre-primary schools were run by NGOs like Gonoshahajjo Sangstha (GSS), Bangladesh Rural & Advancement Committee (BRAC), Save the Children, Plan International, Care Bangladesh, Action Aid, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Friends In Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB), Churches Around Richmond Involved To Assure (CARITAS), Phulki, members of Campaign for Popular Education and Bangladesh Early Childhood Development (ECD) Network. Bangladesh Shishu Academy (BSA) under the MOWCA (Ministry of Women and Children Affairs) with the support of UNICEF (United Nations Child`s Fund) runs Shishu Bikash & pre-schools in CHT (Chittagong Hill Tracts) and most vulnerable areas such as haor area, coastal area, tea gardens, brothels, central prisons, Shishu paribar & disaster-prone locations (2000-13) and urban slums. Other institutions contribute to this field such as mosque based maktaabs, madrasas, mondirs, and private Kindergartens ⁵.

From 2010 as an intermediate arrangement government also introduced pre-primary in GPS (Government Primary School) & RNGPS (Registered Non-Government Primary School) with the help of UNICEF for training and development of teachers of an interim PPE (Pre-primary Education) package ⁵. More than 93,000 primary education institutions in Bangladesh offer pre-primary classes, which together served 2.9 million children in 2015. In line with the NEP 2010 and the operational framework for PPE, the government has progressively expanded educational outreach to young children, starting with one year of PPE in all public primary schools. Currently, 99% of public primary schools and 95% of newly nationalized primary schools offer PPE ¹⁰.

Early childhood development has great returns in the future through cognitive and social-emotional development ¹¹. Quality Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) can help to reduce repetition and drop-out rates ¹². Global evidence recognizes that early childhood development creates a basic foundation for the development of health and success in education. It is also recognized that children who have completed pre-primary education have greater success in primary education and a good opportunity for a smoother transition of primary school ⁵.

2. Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to know about the impact of pre-primary education on children’s cognitive and physical development in Bangladesh.

To fulfill the broad objective, the study has to fulfill the followings:

1. To know the importance of pre-primary education for the improvement of quality education.

2. To find out the availability of teaching materials in pre-primary education suitable for proper learning.

3. To identify the level of satisfaction on pre-primary education for ensuring proper school achievement of children.

4. To find out the existing problems related to pre-primary education and suggest some recommendations to uplift the system.

3. Conceptual Framework of the Study

The establishing of pre-primary school education in developing countries is to prepare the children in such a way that they can compete with their counterparts equally in primary education. In this study, independent variables have a great impact on the dependent variable. Here the independent variables are infrastructural facilities (such as- building, playground, etc) that can help in the mental development and increase the concentration of children; suitable curriculum design (for ensuring equality and removing pressure on children); available training facilities (as well trained teacher can provide the best performance); teachers'-students' ratio (important to make enjoyable and pleasant classroom); socio-economic condition of guardians (affects the education of children specially the poor children); safe environment and awareness of guardians and teachers towards young children help them to get the proper education. Moreover, financial availability is also crucial to deliver proper care to children' by ensuring that the required environments, facilities, staffing arrangements, and resources.

4. Research Methodology

In this study, the survey method was applied to achieve the objective of the study. This study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. This research is explanatory and descriptive based on primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from the teachers and guardians of the five (05) government primary schools namely: Amberkhana Dorga Gate Government Primary School, Pathantula Government Primary School, AmberKhana Dorshon Dewri Government Primary School, Jatiya Shikkha Kendra Government Primary School, and Government Kindergarten Primary School by using a structured interview schedule with both closed and open questions. In-depth interviews of several respondents were also taken. Secondary data was collected from published books, journals, articles, periodicals, newspapers, the internet, and relevant organizations. Teachers and guardians of five (05) government primary schools make up the sample population. In this study, primary data was collected from 60 individuals: 10 teachers (2 teachers from each school); and 50 guardians (10 guardians from each school). And quantitatively, a percentage analysis of the data was conducted using SPSS software. To choose the representative purposive non- probability technique was used. The study also ensures anonymity, confidentiality, and informed consent, and maintained scrupulous honesty in analyzing and reporting data.

5. Conceptualizing Pre-primary Education and Impact of Pre-primary Education on Children

Pre-primary education is the basis of education which is divided into two stages: Kindergarten for children 3-5 years and Preprimary or kindergarten for aged 5-6 years. In this study, it refers to the level of education mainly starts from the age of 3+ to 5+ to teach children with fun and play. It is a crucial way for the development of the brain of young children. It is the process of giving education through the use of color, demonstrations, pictures, mimes, and other ways. Students of the preprimary level are tender-aged so they need special care to teach them and to keep them in a friendly environment. The purpose of pre-primary education is to make children mentally and physically strong so that they can take their primary education easily. It helps to develop the ability to rise in the morning, attend school in time, obey the advice and order of the teachers, and respect and tolerate others. It offers a good environment, and inspiration for academic education, and socializing opportunities.

Pre-primary education has both tangible and intangible effects on children`s emotional, cognitive, and physical development. By participating in pre-primary education children can know about various things (such as- study materials, how to read and write, languages, alphabets, and numbers, etc.) for the first time they experience communicating with the people of same age group. They can learn easily when they learn with fun and play. It plays an important role in taking primary education easily and without fear because they have already known how to communicate with friend and teacher.

6. Findings and Discussion of the Study

In this study, among the total sixty (60) respondents, fifty (50) respondents were (guardians) and ten (10) respondents were (teachers). And most of the respondents of this study (72%) were female and the rest (28%) were male. In this research, respondents were interviewed for measuring the impact of pre-primary education on children. Here, the questionnaire method was also followed for data collection from the selected respondents including teachers and guardians. Here, the purpose of the data collection was to know the impact of pre-primary education on children in Bangladesh.

Education is widely considered a basic human right as well as a tool for socio-economic development and poverty reduction in Bangladesh ¹³. The role of education is to build the nation and linkages with knowledge and empowerment. It is true that education directly influences the politics, culture, and economy of a country ¹⁴. And pre-primary education ensures early childhood development and it has a significant impact on school performance. Students with pre-primary education (BRAC) achieved higher scores in primary school examinations compared to students without such education ¹⁵. Pre-schools programs have better developmental outcomes than those students who did not participate in such programs ¹⁶. Pre-primary education is most essential for universal education all over the world. Attending in pre-primary education positively affects student’s behavioral skills such as- attention, effort, class participation, and discipline ¹⁷. And behavioral skills are as important as cognitive skills to future success in life.

This study revealed that the majority of the guardians (92%) respondents replied that pre-primary education is important for children because to learn with fun, to develop in the future, to attention to schools, to develop their base of education, to ensure learning from little age, to develop pre-school education, to develop better understanding, and to encourage primary education. A little number only (8%) said that pre-primary education is not necessary for the children to learn outside the home.

On the other hand, all the teachers (100%) opined that pre-primary education is the demand of time to improve in primary education for children (Table 6.1).

Respondents think that pre-primary education is monumental for children as it helps to learn basic knowledge and compete in another examination in the era of globalization. It also helps to develop further education and gain experience. It is the way of learning with fun, creating the base of education strongly, and encouraging primary education. Some respondents said that institutions provide learning differently by monitoring regularly that is not possible at home. On the other hand, few respondents are not interested to talk about the importance of pre-primary education.

One respondent said that

“Pre-primary education is most important for children because it helps children to learn basic things at little age when their brain is sharp and can catch and copy any things easily. It helps children to develop in their further level of education through developing understanding level and encouraging for primary education. It helps to reduce the fear of going to school. Because by participating in pre-primary education children can know about the environment of the school at an early age and also know how to communicate with others” (Teacher, interview 2, June 2018).

Another respondent pointed out that

“Pre-primary education is necessary because it is not just about teaching letters and numbers but also about instilling values and characteristics such as a love of learning, curiosity, discipline, teamwork, independence, socialization skills, and communication. It helps to maximize their strengths and to build their confidence and competence. It also helps children to free from distracting because it is a time when children easily become a distracted person” (Guardian, interview 4, June 2018).

In Bangladesh, the common scenario is an overwhelming syllabus and the culture of painful memorization that is coupled with stressful hall examination. They give a comparative evaluation and create cheating. As a result over competitive and selfish individuals are increasing day by day who always think of benefits. The generalized or religious curriculum is prescribed at all levels ¹⁴. On the other hand, kindergarten schools do not follow any common curriculum and privately managed existing kindergartens follow syllabus and curriculum of their own ¹⁸. In private kindergarten schools, children face extra pressure for a large number of books ¹.

Table 6.2 represents that in response to the question of curriculum design in pre-primary education among guardians (56%) respondents opined that curriculum is suitable for children and (44%) answered the existing curriculum design is not suitable because there is no provision for providing books for reading to their home. On the other hand, among teachers majority of the respondents (90%) replied in favor of the statement that curriculum is suitable for children and (10%) said against it (Table 6.2).

At the pre-primary level, students do not get any book for practicing at home. Some guardians think that it is necessary to provide books for home so that students can revise the lessons that are learned in the classroom. They think it will create the attention of children to learning. The majority of the teachers said that the curriculum is good for children but a little number said that the curriculum design is not good. It is necessary to ensure the provision of providing the book to home so that they can practice at home for more understanding as in classroom all students are not capable of catching the theme which is taught. Though in classroom teachers always try to teach alphabets, numbers, etc. with fun. So it will be better to ensure the provision of providing books in the classroom.

Bangladesh as a developing country has some problems in the way of the overall development. For this reason, there is no much progress in pre-primary education. There is a lack of infrastructural facilities such as insufficient classrooms and playgrounds for a pleasant teaching environment ¹⁹. In non-formal schools, the problem is more difficult, compared to the government primary schools the size of the class is small and less variation in class size ⁶. There isn’t enough room or space for students to ensure a healthy environment.

In response to the question of whether infrastructural facilities are enough for a good teaching environment, among guardians (76%) respondents said that infrastructural facilities are not good for teaching environment and (24%) said that infrastructural facilities are good. On the other side, among teachers, most of the respondents (80%) respondents replied that the infrastructural facilities are not enough for a good teaching environment and only (20%) said in favor of availability of infrastructural facilities (Table 6.3).

In Bangladesh, pre-primary education has been considered more important since independence and The first education commission (Qudart-e Khuda education commission) formed in 1972 recommended the introduction of PPE but the present government through "National Education Policy 2010" introduced one-year-pre-primary schooling for 5+ students. However, the condition of pre-primary education is not suitable for proper learning. So, standards of classroom arrangement, teaching-learning materials should be enhanced following the competency-based national curriculum ²⁰. The majority of the pre-primary classes are held in a traditional classroom setting.

From the field survey, it is found that there is a lack of classroom, chair, and table for students learning. All the guardians said that there is a lack of proper seating material for children and a lack of space for seating. But some of the respondents said that children don't need to seat in the chair because of their safety. On the contrary, some portion of the respondents replied that it will be better to provide a chair and table by considering children's age and making especially. Guardians think that lack of proper seating place creates a problem, especially in the winter season.

As one of the respondents argued that:

“Insufficient teaching materials are another weakness of our educational institutions. We do not have sufficient teaching materials relevant to the pre-primary education system. Although every year, there are thousands of requests for schools to get repaired. Many of these are often ignored. Allocated funds are continually wasted because of the lack of transparency which has a great impact on the quality of education has ultimately been negative” (Teacher, interview 7, June 2018).

Another respondent replied that:

“In government pre-primary schools, all students seat on the floor, it is suitable for summer (season) but in winter (season), it creates a great problem for children. They can`t seat on the floor because of the cold and it creates various diseases for children and for this reason children can`t participate in school regularly. It decreases their attention to school and hampers the continuation of the study” (Teacher, Interview 3, June 2018).

Poverty is one of the major problems in Bangladesh. In developing countries, poor children are at greater risk of never attending school than richer children ²¹. Family is the organization where an individual is born and brought up and a financially well-off family can give more resources, especially educational resources ²². The socio-economic status of parents acts as a catalyst in determining the educational accomplishment of children ²³. There is a link between the socio-economic status of the student's parents and their educational attainment. By taking into account some variables (like- parents income, children of a well family, educational level of the parents, and profession of parents) socio-economic status of parents can be measured. These variables have a great impact on children's educational careers. Children from high socioeconomic status get a better opportunity of higher education as they have more capability to own material resources that can advance their academic educational achievement ²⁴. And children from low socioeconomic status do not get the necessary support from their parents to pursue their higher education ²³.

The indicators of children’s cognitive development and socio-emotional skills are low, with large disparities by income and education level of families ²⁵. It is because of various factors, such as socioeconomic status, home learning environment, and the quality of the early childhood development program where children are participating, influence children's development ²⁶.

Among the teachers, most of the respondents (60%) said that the guardian's economic condition has an impact on children's education and development, and the rest (40%) respondents replied that the guardian's income condition has no impact on children's education. On the other side, the majority of the respondents among guardians (80%) answered that parent`s economic condition has a great impact on children's education in affording educational cost, and only (20%) said against it (Table 6.4).

The field study shows that children from lower-income families have a lack of clean and good clothes. Sometimes they come to school without any food for the launch because of having no money and this hampers their attention to learning. Some children can`t buy an exercise book and pen and they are irregular in completing everyday tasks at schools. Parents can`t provide the necessary educational materials to children for receiving a proper education.

In the pre-primary level, the number of teachers is very inadequate, a single teacher has to handle around (60-80) students which create difficulty in conducting meaningful classes ⁶. That's why teachers cannot take adequate care of their students for the reason for large numbers of students; lack of teaching aids; shortage of teacher especially quality teacher. There are not enough teachers for the student.

Among the teachers, the majority of the respondents (90%) opined that teachers are inadequate in pre-primary education in proportion to the number of the students and only (10%) respondents said against it. And also from the guardians' side, the majority of the respondents (80%) replied that numbers of teachers are not adequate in proportion to pre-primary students and only (20%) respondents said that the numbers of teachers are adequate (Table 6.5).

In Bangladesh, the teacher-student ratio is high. The field data shows that it is necessary to increase the number of teachers in pre-primary education. It is very difficult for a single teacher to conduct class properly because of a large number of students. So, at the pre-primary education level at least two (2) teachers should be appointed.

From the survey data, the majority of the respondents said that the number of teachers must be increased to (3-4) in number because 3+ students are innocent and they are not able to take care of themselves. Respondents also added that there is a lack of teachers with various qualities- such as cultural programs, sports, and physical exercise, etc. Every school needs separate teachers in this field or at least a teacher who has minimum knowledge about this field.

Training may be the best way to gain knowledge but insufficient training facilities are another barrier towards the success of pre-primary level education. As the adoption of teachers' formal training remains low and largely absent, that becomes a barrier to ensure quality education ²⁷. “Currently there are 88,225 pre-school centers, signaling a demand for the same number of trained teachers, to allocate at least one trained teacher per school. Currently, there are 68,200 trained teachers however a total of 20,025 PPE teachers (23 percent) have not received any kind of training and all of them belong to government-supported schools” ²⁰.

From this table, it has been found that the majority of the respondents (70%) among the teachers replied that they do not get any training facilities. It is just for a few teachers for a short tenure which is not enough to be skilled in the pre-primary system. But only (30%) respondents mentioned that they get training on the pre-primary education system. On the other side, from the guardians' side, the majority of the respondents' (80%) respondents replied that the pre-primary teachers do not get any training facilities, and only (20%) respondents said against it (Table 6.6).

One respondent pointed out that:

“I got an opportunity to participate in the training session only for two days which were arranged for some selected teachers. But I think this is not enough for a trainee but there were some practical sessions on where teachers can get ideas to conduct a class” (Teacher, interview 6, June 2018).

Theoretical and practical knowledge is disseminated by the techniques provided through the workshops and training programs and in this respect, the concerned authority should provide adequate training facilities to the teachers to get ready for making the students more creative and skilled.

Learning within pre-school must take place with compatible with each child's capabilities, careful guidance, and endorsement of a healthy sense of self-confidence. In Bangladesh, majority pre-primary education centers do not have minimum standards of learning environment such as- adequate play and teaching materials, playground, enough place for outside classroom play, safe water, and hygienic toilet facility, adequate light, and ventilation facility, books, etc ²⁰.

About (39%) pre-primary schools had no teaching-learning and play materials ¹⁰.

Most of the guardians (64%) teachers mentioned that the environment of the pre-primary school is not satisfactory for young children's development. On the other hand (36%) respondents replied that the environment is good for proper learning. And from the teacher's side, the majority of the respondents (80%) replied that the environment of the pre-primary school is not satisfactory and only (20%) respondents said that environment of the pre-primary school is good for children's proper development (Table 6.7).

From the survey, it is found that in government pre-primary schools, there is a lack of playground and teaching materials. There is also a lack of classroom environment, water and sanitation facilities, safety and security, etc.

In pre-primary school, students can learn social skills, emotional self-control, and communication in real-time. Children have several choices of activities. At the pre-primary school level, teachers help a child who is wandering to choose one that attracts him. Children’s sense of competence and self-worth grow because they learn to take care of themselves and help others.

Among the teachers, almost all the respondents (90%) replied that children are interested to go to school regularly but only (10%) said that children are not so much interested to go to school regularly. From guardians’ side, the majority of the respondents' (86%) respondents replied that children want to go to school regularly, and (14%) respondents said against this statement (Table 6.8).

Young children want to go to school regularly to meet with friends. They like to play and gossip with friends. In school, they can learn many things for example: how to write, read, and count numbers. They also can develop their competence and ability to work as a group.

One respondent said that

“Children go to school regularly because in school they have many friends. They like to play with them. They learn their lesson together. They play together with various materials. But their play materials are not enough for them” (Teacher, Interview 4, June 2018).

In many households, children are abused both verbally and physically that creates a mental effect on them. The reason for that is every parent wants their child to be successful and have a better life. They do not understand the pressure they are casting on children and damaging their life. Most of the times they decide based on what society thinks without considering the child's needs. For these reasons, a child feels like he/she is studying to save him or herself from the crisis that can happen in his/her life ¹.

Among the guardians, majority of the respondents (70%) said that children must read at home every day to grow the sense of reading regularly and children also want to read but (30%) respondents replied that they do not create pressure to children to read every day (Table 6.9).

The field study also depicts that parents want their children must be good at learning. They expect that their children will acquire a high score in every examination but it is not possible for every child. Some children are good at drawing, singing, dancing, and others at sports. Pressure on students creates so many problems. For example, In Bangladesh, many students commit suicide for family pressure because of not achieving high scores in the examination.

7. Concluding Remarks and Recommendations

The Government of Bangladesh has given the highest importance in the education sector to ensure education for all. Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in ensuring access and equity in the pre-primary level of education. A large section of the country's national budget is set aside to promote education and make it more accessible to all. But the education system of Bangladesh is facing so many obstacles (such as- political, social, environmental, transport and communication and overall economical) in ensuring proper educational facilities. Poor performance in primary levels and dropouts are matters of concern. Since the independence of the country, the Bangladesh government is committed to providing universal pre-primary education. For this purpose, the government created many commissions and committees to develop pre-primary education. Among them, the 2010 committee headed by Professor Kabir Chowdhury is monumental for pre-primary education. It ensures pre-primary education for 5+ children in a government school and the provision for 3+ children is running. But the government cannot facilitate it at a satisfactory level because of the lack of infrastructural facilities, training facilities, financial capacity, uniform teaching curriculum design, lack of adequate skilled teachers, and proper learning environment at pre-primary level school, etc. Many schools do not have the opportunity for the children to play at school time because of the insufficient playground. Though government pre-primary education has some criticisms it is a good initiative for poor people to send their children to school to acquire knowledge. Government and concerned authorities should be more concerned about the pre-primary education program and should also ensure the availability of the infrastructural facilities to make the pre-primary education enjoyable to children. And for this the following prescriptions should be taken into consideration like: to develop infrastructural facilities; to provide enough places in school area so that the children can play freely; to allot adequate funds for the government schools; to ensure appropriate teacher-student ratio; to arrange adequate training facilities for the teachers; a standardized curriculum design for all students at pre-primary level; and teachers need to spend more times with the children as well as to provide books for homework so that guardians can provide instruction at home etc. Besides, both guardians and teachers must be friendly in manner towards the children. After all, an education policy (targeting poor and socially disadvantaged children) is urgently needed to formulate so that appropriate education can be provided to all the children.

Note

1. The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, [latest amendment April 2008] Part II, Article-17

References