Govt to standardize preschool

Govt to standardize preschool

JAKARTA: The Ministry of National Education is planning to
standardize guidelines for preschool education in a bid to
empower early childhood education nationwide.

The ministry's early childhood education director Gutama said
last Friday that the program aimed at promoting the importance of
the education for children under six years old.

"It is important to maximize human resource development
through early education," Gutama said.

He said, however, the one-year-long program was facing a
shortage of funds. "Due to the problem with funds, it'll be
difficult to implement the program soon," he said.

According to official data, children under six years of age
number 26 million. Seventy-three percent of them have no access
to early childhood education due to various factors.

To promote the early childhood education program, the
ministry, in cooperation with the Indonesian Child Welfare
Foundation (YKAI) and Yayasan Mutiara Keluarga, held a three-day
campaign last Friday, which included games for children, a
seminar, and an education exhibition. --JP