Education International Research
mainland Tanzania, ECE is included as part of the “basic education” framework, meaning the sector competes for funding with other (underfunded) levels of education. In some cases, lack of investment in ECE is a consequence of low political will or lack of awareness of the benefits of ECE investment and the social and economic repercussions of insufficient investment. In Japan, the Japan Teachers’ Union reports that the government has a policy to ensure free ECE, but “they cannot secure the budget to make it happen”. In other countries, low investment in ECE is linked to wider social austerity policies. In high- and low-income countries alike, poor funding of ECE limits access. Educators across the African region explain that many children of ECE age are unable to access ECE due to sparse provision in rural areas, long distances to schools/centres, inadequate infrastructure and lack of school feeding programmes.72 In the UK, unions lament that lack of funding for ECE has led to the recent forced closure of some high-quality nurseries and “Sure Start” centres.73 A lack of government investment in ECE teacher salaries in Zimbabwe means that the ECE sector relies heavily on engaging paraprofessionals, parents and community caregivers as volunteers. In Benin and Senegal, unions report that communities often have to pay for ECE teacher salaries.
ECE remains highly privatised, prohibiting access to education in the early years Participation in ECE one year before the official entry age for primary education varies from 93% in highincome countries to 42% in lowincome countries, with a current global average of 69%.74 The inequality of access globally is striking, but it conceals further inequalities within countries according to income and multiple other intersecting areas of marginalisation. In Armenia, for instance, CRSTESA75 report that gross enrolment in ECE for children up to 6 years old was 29.2% in 2016, but only 17.2% in rural areas. Of children with disabilities, 71% did not attend pre-school. According to educators, privatisation of ECE is the greatest obstacle to ensuring access to quality ECE for all. Within highly privatised ECE systems, students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds are excluded from crucial early learning opportunities. In the US, educators estimate that as many as 75–100% of ECE services are private and fee-based. According to the American Federation of Teachers, increased investment in public ECE is inhibited by the current political climate. Polling shows that 79% of the public support making quality ECE more affordable, but it is often not considered a high-priority issue by voters and the administration. Furthermore, there is a paradoxical public resistance to increased taxes.
GRO.EI-IE
Many educators attest that regulations are not tight enough to ensure quality private sector provision of ECE. In Uganda, for example, UNATU76 explains that there are no minimum qualifications for teachers to be hired by private ECE providers, and the curriculum is not harmonised with that of the public sector. In Mauritius, GTU77 state that “private, on-the-corner pre-primary schools still exist and do not offer the right environment for quality education”. In Taiwan, approximately 70% of ECE institutions are private. According to NTA, amendments to the Early Childhood Education and Care Act made in 2015 mean that private ECE institutions can hire unlicensed teachers. Government policy can also indirectly encourage privatisation of ECE. In Quebec, for instance, the government changed the fee structure for ECE in 2015. Rather than charging set fees for ECE universally, the government began charging fees according to parental income, providing subsidies to parents who choose to send their children to private day centres. It is now cheaper for many parents to send their children to private day care rather than to public centres, even though public ECE is of higher quality.
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ECE age ranges vary depending on the country. Centres providing ECE and family support. GEMR. 2018. Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments. Global Education Monitoring Report. p. 140. Branch Republican Union of Trade Union Organizations Workers of Education and Science of Armenia Uganda National Teachers’ Union Government Teachers Union