South Sumatra Province Implements One Village, One Early Childhood Education Programme

Palembang – The South Sumatra Provincial Government has initiated a programme to ensure that every village and sub-district across the 17 regencies and cities in the province has at least one early childhood education (PAUD) school.

“We are implementing a programme whereby every village has one PAUD school to equip children in preparing themselves for primary education,” said South Sumatra Deputy Governor Cik Ujang in Palembang on Saturday.

According to him, ideally every village and sub-district should have one PAUD school, as this educational institution serves as an initial introduction to formal education for children.

Based on available data, the province currently has more than 3,000 PAUD schools in total. However, their distribution remains uneven, with the majority located in urban areas.

He explained that early childhood education is an educational level intended for children up to the age of six years.

The purpose of establishing PAUD schools is to provide educational stimulation to support the physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and spiritual and moral growth and development of children, ensuring they are prepared for further education. The schools also aim to optimise children’s growth and development by providing appropriate stimulation so that children can develop comprehensively.

To realise the One Village and Sub-district, One PAUD programme, the provincial administration continues to promote construction of schools in remote areas.

In recent years, pilot early childhood education schools have been constructed in remote villages and sub-districts. “The construction of these pilot PAUD schools is overseen by the South Sumatra Education Office, involving local youth as teachers or caregivers,” explained the Deputy Governor.