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Related Links
The Save the Children Nepal Alliance represented by Save the Children Japan, Save the Children UK, Save the Children US and Save the Children Norway has recently launched its flagship web site. Click on Early Childhood Development for relevant documents and papers
ECDPAK is the First Early Childhood Development website in Pakistan developed by the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) under the program called 'Releasing Confidence & Creativity (RCC): Building Sound Foundations for Early Learning in Pakistan', supported and sponsored by The Aga Khan Foundation and USAID.
The RCC Program aims to promote ECD in two provinces of Pakistan i.e. Sindh & Balochistan. This program strives to bring "qualitative reforms" in the public education sector by creating a viable model for early learning by establishing strong partnerships at various levels. It has been implemented in 100 government schools. The program has two implementing partners in Sindh--the Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan (AKESP) & Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS) and one implementing partner, Society for Community Support for Primary Education (SCSPEB) in Balochistan The Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), has the pivotal role of extending 'Technical Support' to all three implementing partners in areas of 'Monitoring and Evaluation, Capacity building and Liaising with the Local Government and Department of Education (DoE), Developing Community Awareness Material, Publications and Website development'. There are two other technical partners in the RCC Program: Teachers' Resource Centre (TRC) and AKU-HDP.
The ECDPAK website aims to create awareness regarding the concept of Early Childhood Development and the RCC Program along with serving as an avenue to synergize the efforts made by numerous local agencies in the field of ECE/ECD. The website will strive to eliminate the possibility of duplication of efforts across country. Eventually this website would be a repertoire of all the ECD related initiatives undertaken so far by any agency in Pakistan. This effort would be instrumental in promoting better information sharing and developing better linkages amongst the ECD providers not only in Pakistan but also internationally. Besides featuring RCC Program updates and partners' information, the website also contains a databank of photos, local case studies and literature. An ECD Resource Book and ECD Magazine, also developed by SEF, will be available shortly for online viewing to make the existing information and tools accessible to a wider audience.
Teachers' Resource Centre (TRC)
Established in 1986, the Teachers' Resource Centre (TRC) is a non-profit, non-government organisation, dedicated to the improvement of school education in Pakistan. Of interest to those working in the field of ECD, in August 2002, the Ministry of Education (Curriculum Wing) and TRC joined hands to unveil Pakistan’ s first National Early Childhood Education Curriculum. While collaborating with the Ministry, TRC drew on considerable research and its vast experience in the field to develop a text-book free, gender-sensitive, culturally relevant curriculum that will now be a formal part of the National Scheme of Studies. The curriculum advocates active learning and child-centred methods of teaching and focuses on the holistic development of 3-5 year olds. The upcoming issue of the Coordinators' Notebook on Advocacy will feature a detailed case study.
Aga Khan University National Health Sciences Research Symposium: Early Childhood Education, Pakistan, September 2002. For an overview of the issues addressed, see the related document: ECCD: Best Investment for the Future.
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