Early childhood education
Children absorb substantial amounts of information early on
in life as they begin developing language and social skills. They
are primed and eager to learn between the ages of three and
five. Providing early learning and development opportunities
during this time is vital to their development and serves as
a springboard to academic success, as exposure to learning
environments early on implants discipline and stimulates the
mind. Children who attend preschool are firmly set on the
primary school track, are more likely to progress well and are
less likely to drop out.
However, the staggering lack of preschools in Cambodia,
especially in rural areas, means that many children are
deprived of this critical education jump start. Although good
progress has recently been made, in the 2010/2011 school
year, less than 26 per cent of children between the ages of
three and five had access to early childhood development
opportunities, such as community preschools, home-based
education programmes and state preschools.
UNICEF’s basic education programme helps children realize
their right to quality basic education by maximizing a child’s earlylearning
capacity through preschool and home-based education.