ISLAMABAD: The first ever two-day national conference on early childhood care and pre-primary education will take place on Monday (today) at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).
The conference is organised by the Early Childhood Development Network of Pakistan (ECDNP), Education Ministry, AIOU and some NGOs.
The event is highly significant since it brings all the stakeholders together on one platform to evolve future road-map taking care of children at their early age, said AIOU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shahid Siddiqui.
The event is aimed at promoting holistic early childhood care and education for Pakistan and creating an equitable, pluralistic and sustainable society, he added.
Dr Shahid Siddiqui said, “We will host such an event on regular basis in the month of March to keep up the childcare’s endeavour”.
A research journal on early childhood would be published by the end of this year to provide academic input in this task of nation-building and a have better future. This year, the university would also offer special certificate course on early childhood. It has also been planned to introduce this subject at BSc level, he added.
Planning and Development Minister Ashan Iqbal will inaugurate the event while President Mamnoon Hussain is likely to be the chief guest at the concluding session on Tuesday.
The conference will have two plenary sessions that will be chaired by Education Minister Engr Muhammad Baligur Rehman and National Health Services Minister Saira Afzal Tarar, respectively. Renowned educationist Dr Manzoor Hussain from Bangladesh will be a keynote speaker on the occasion.
