HISTORY OFEARLYCHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN SUDAN

Basic Data
Population 25.9 million
HDI rank (among 173 countries and areas) 173
GNP per capita (US$) 400
Adult literacy rate (%15 + ) 27
Adult female literacy rate (%15 + ) 12
Children under 6 years About 5.5 million
Education expenditure as % GNP 4.8

BACKGROUND OF PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL
The first pre-primary centres were founded in the nineteenth century as part of missionary schools. Music, play and drawing were introduced into their curriculum. In the first decade of this century, the catholic mission established schools in Khartoum and Omdurman to which kindergartens were attached. The school attempt in kindergarten education was soon carried out in the Coptic college Khartoum, a school that mainly serve the Egyptian community. However, the first kindergarten open by the Sudanese was not established until 1930.like Catholic and Coptic kindergartens, it was also attached to an elementary school.

Legislation concerning ECCE:

There was a policy statement issued by the Council of Ministers in 1992 obliging 4–6- year-olds to attend preschool education before attending primary school. This policy is rarely enforced.

Official body/bodies in charge of supervision or coordination:

There is a Federal Ministry and State Ministries of Education and each Ministry of
Education has a Pre-School Unit.

Other entities involved in the provision (e.g. municipalities, local governments) and main types of providers (e.g. public, private, mixed, community-based, etc.):

State Governments and Municipalities, in the larger urban centres, are involved in pre-school education. The main providers are public, although in the urban centres they are private.

Information concerning the curriculum or the contents of ECCE programs
Objectives and aims:

Pre-school education provides play activities that suit children, aiming at their overall development (intellectual, emotional, physical and social) in the cultural context, and at increasing their vocabulary and intellectual skills for successful schooling.

Learning areas and teaching-learning methods:

Pre-school education is highly decentralized and each state follows its own model in accordance with the above-mentioned general objectives and goals. The curriculum normally includes the following aspects covering the major areas of children’s development:

• Islamic values, including the Koran and moral values;
• Language skills;
• Arithmetical skills;
• Social skills;
• Scientific knowledge;
• Motor skills;
• Aesthetic skills.

Children usually attend pre-school institutions 18 to 24 hours per week. Activities are organized in the form of integrated units lasting five to fifteen minutes. Children’s performance is continuously evaluated through direct observation; there is a final evaluation at the end of the course. Khalwas (Koranic schools) accept pupils of all age.

Any other relevant and pertinent information

The national enrolment percentage for the year 2003 was 25.4% for both genders as compared to the 20% enrolment ratio of the year 2000; it was 27.2% among boys and
23.5% among girls. The percentage, however, varies considerably between states, being 6.6% in Bahar Elghazal state, compared to 52.8% in the Northern state.

The first Sudanese kindergarten was established in the 1930s by Sheik Babiker Badri who was an advocate for women's education. He had established Sudan’s first private school for girls in 1907. The ECCE programmes are provided by two types of institutions, Kindergartens (KGs) and Koranic schools or Khalwas. The non-religious kindergartens remain overwhelmingly an urban phenomenon but they do not pay sufficient attention to the health, nutrition, social and cognitive aspects of child development. The Khalwa’s primary role is clearly religious and they are often in rural areas, and these outnumber other kindergartens. Khalwas provide preschool education to two thirds of the children between the ages of 4-6. In 1983, and with the help of UNICEF, the Ministry of Social Welfare established a training center for ECE teachers which provided a six-month training course in child development, art, music, and production of teaching materials. Currently, in Khartoum, there are 2000 KGs out of which only 206 are public. The most recent data for the years 2002-03 show that the government provides for 9,833 ECCE centers in all of Sudan. Of these 3,298 are Khalwas and 6,523 are KGs. (Faour, 2006).

PRESCHOOL PROGRAMMES

Today, there are four types of childhood education facilities in the country:
• Privately owned elementary school kindergarten
• Privately owned kindergartens or nurseries
• The department of social welfare kindergartens
• Association of kindergartens
All these institutions provide E C E TO ONLY 6% of the eligible target group of children under 6
The school kindergarten is the oldest of the four. The first was started in the early 1900s by the Catholic mission. These are few in number (nine kindergartens). In most cases, only children of the rich can afford them. These kindergartens emphasize discipline and the teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic (the 3 Rs). Music and singing are also included in the curriculum. The social atmosphere of these kindergartens is very rigid. The kindergarten is in effect a downward extension of grade 1.
The second type of ECE centre is founded by the individual initiative. There are two categories.
The first category KG which constitute the majority, operate in private homes or in rented apartments. In most cases, there is no space for children to play in and there are no adequate toilet facilities and the rooms are not properly ventilated. The women in charge of these facilities have no professional training. These facilities are more akin to playgroups, child care and babysitting services than to a nursery or kindergarten. There is neither a curriculum nor the objective to be achieved; children are merely safeguarded from harming themselves while playing.

In the second category of institution, which consist of a mere three or four kindergarten in the entire country, facilities and better and staff personnel are more qualified, the kindergarten are housed in special buildings, some staff have received some training, and they engage the children iin a wider range of activities.

The third type is the form of kindergarten established by the department of the social welfare in early 1970s in Khartoum. There are 12 such kindergarten. Each is assigned to a small corner in the youth centre of a family club. All 12 have the same daily timetable, which is drawn up at the headquarters of the department. Some of the staff has received on-the-job training in form of a few general lectures on child development.

The fourth and the most recent type of kindergarten is established by different association or workers in both government and private sectors. These kindergartens usually cater for the children of the members of the association. Most are housed in the association club ( a building used in the evening by the members of the association for social purpose) these kindergartens are similar to those of the social welfare kindergartens in the sense that what they offer the children reflects the level of the training of the staff working with them.

KHALWAS: KORANIC SCHOOLS

All four types of ECE are found in Khartoum and other big cities. in most rural areas, the khalwas is still the only means of education, in few rural places where an elementary school exists, the khalwas becomes sort of preschool centre, moreover, the number of existing ECE centres is still very small compare to koranic schools (khalwas). In 1991, these were about 94,878 children in such centres where one third the number of khalwas.
The Koranic schools provide preschool education for two-thirds of all children between 4-6 years enrolled in all pre-school centres. These Koranic schools are established by local efforts and their children are mainly 4-6 years; however, older children might join the Khalwas as well.

Main Characteristics of Khalwas

Khalwas art; established by local communities. Their curriculum is mainly based on the Holy Koran and a single teacher (sheikh) who will seldom have received any formal pedagogical training. Khalwas are low-cost operations, relying on locally available materials for buildings, furnishings and equipment.

Characteristics of Khalwas Teacher (Sheikh)

The Koranic school teacher has many qualities: a good memory, an ascetic outlook, patience, faith in his mission, humility and frugality. He is concerned to discharge his duties well in order to please God rather than to achieve material gain.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF ECE STAFF

A major problem facing the proper development of kindergartens in the country is the lack of training institutions for preschool educational personnel. Most of KG teachers have no professional training. To rectify this, the Ministry of Social Welfare, with the help of UNICEF, established a centre for training ECE staff in 1983. The centre provides a six-month training course in child development, nutrition, art, music and the production of teaching materials. There are plans to extend the course to a one-year duration. Ahfad University tor Women is also providing ECE training for KG teachers. A non- governmental institution established in 1966, the Ahfad University for Women offers a bachelors degree in preschool education. However, many graduates do not opt to work in kindergartens because of low salaries.
Some graduates have established their own kindergartens and some are employed by the association's kindergartens. Ahfad University for Women also trains women from rural areas. These village women come into Ahfad through the university's Rural Extension Programme and receive up to six months of training, including knowledge of how to set up a kindergarten in their villages.

Types of staff training (requirements):

Two major universities have been offering early childhood education major at the undergraduate level but under different faculties since the 1970s. Ahfad University offers it under the faculty of Psychology and Kindergarten and the University of Khartoum (1969) under the faculty of Family Sciences. In 1994, the Nile Valley University established teachers college and offers early childhood education major. (Faour, 2006)

Recent national policies and reforms:
There have not been any national policies and reforms in recent years. Attention to early childhood began in 1990 followed by the National Plan of Action for the Survival, Development, and Protection of Children which was established in 1992. The National Council for Child Welfare (NCCW) was established in September 1991 as a government body responsible for monitoring and promoting children’s rights in Sudan. The NCCW operates under the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development. It is more concerned with strategic planning, policy development and reports on the status of children in Sudan. One of the goals is to expand access to 35% by the year 2007 and to 100% by the year 2015.

Efforts targeted at vulnerable or disadvantaged children:

The government stipulated that public and private sectors should establish child care facilities to orphaned children providing them with education and health care, either through direct sponsorship or through foster families. (Faour, 2006)

Parental involvement in ECE services

Apart from formal preschool education, the rearing of children in the Sudan is the sole responsibility of the family. Parents are not provided with any educational programmes.
Even in radio and television, programmes directed toward family matters and to the education of children are virtually ignored. These programmes usually concentrate on health issues. However, there is clear awareness in many parts of the Sudan of the importance of parental involvement in promoting the development of their young children.
Plans for new primary kindergartens included parents not only in the programme but also in the planning of the school. The MOE brings rural women into training institute from time to time for training in child development.
Ahfad University for Women has taken the leadership in addressing the issue of parental involvement in the development of young children. It does so by incorporating parental involvement concepts in its ECE programmes and by focussing research on ECD intervention.

CONSTRAINTS TO ECE SERVICES

• Ethnic differences in the Sudan mean that each group has its own customs and traditions, which are reflected in how each group treats its young children. This makes the task of ECE important not only for the sake of individual child but also as a means of enhancing harmony in the provinces of the country.

• The government has assumed no responsibility for establishing KGs or nurseries to the MOE. The task of preschool education and ECE services has been left to initiative of the people and private organizations.

• MOE, although accepting the ideas of KGs since the 1970s, is unwilling to KGs in its existing schools. It is simply maintaining its old role as the licensing authority for those who want to open KGs.

• As this age is dominated by science and technology, MOE is expected to new modes in which Koranic preschool (Khalwas) keep their essential mission of teaching the Holy Koran while at the same time preparing children to learn science of the modern age. Such a modernization and development is achievable within the framework of a comprehensive national strategy for education, regional and international cooperation is needed to develop Koranic schools in sudan as these schools constitute a common denominator for the majority of preschool institution.