Overview: The GPE Secretariat hosted a webinar on “The road towards quality Early Childhood Education – experiences from Moldova and Zambia”. Since 2002, the Global Partnership has invested USD$80 million in technical and financial support to strengthen Early Childhood Education and Care (ECCE) analysis, policies and strategies; grants to finance ECCE programs; and capacity development and knowledge sharing on effective and good practices for ECCE policies and programs.
GPE has aligned its new Strategic Plan (2016-2020) with SDG4 and has committed to improving equity and quality in pre-primary education and supporting improvements in learning and developmental outcomes for young children.
The GPE Secretariat believes that exemplifying countries where support to ECCE has yielded good results will help other countries who are on similar paths to learn from the lessons and the successes of their peers. Zambia and Moldova are two great cases to showcase.
In the case of Moldova, countries can learn how to develop inclusive policies and identify, promote and institutionalize innovation. They can learn also how to build efficient public-private partnerships aimed at scaling-up quality ECCE services and ensuring equitable access to early education for all young boys and girls especially for most vulnerable, children with disabilities, children with special needs, Roma children and children left behind by migration and poverty.
In the case of Zambia, countries can learn how to build the basic ECE policy architecture needed to support all other ECE efforts. Zambia has recently created a Directorate of ECE and has developed a National Policy on ECE and its accompanying implementation plan.
Presenters:
Corina Fusu, H. Minister of Education in Moldova
Larisa Virtosu, ECD Officer, UNICEF Moldova
Martha Macwani Sitali, Senior Education Officer for Early Childhood Education – ECE Directorate/Ministry of Education Zambia
Given Mwanakatwe Daka – Education Specialist ECD, UNICEF Zambia
Alexandra Solano, Education Specialist, Global Partnership for Education
Introductory remarks: GPE Secretariat
Moderator: Ian McPherson, Education Specialist, Global Partnership for Education