SHC moved for implementation of early childhood education policy

A petition has been filed with the Sindh High Court (SHC) seeking implementation of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy of 2015 and the Sindh Education Sector Plan of 2018 to ensure that early childhood education was prioritised in the education system with adequate budgetary allocations and policy execution.

The petitioner, Shahzad Qamar, submitted in the petition that ongoing neglect of ECCE policies had severely impacted the right to quality education for children enshrined under the Article 25-A of the Constitution.

He submitted that early childhood education was recognised globally as a crucial phase for cognitive, social and emotional development and as per the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), early education set the foundation for lifelong learning and success.

The petitioner submitted that recent reports indicated that Sindh's early childhood education sector was in a state of crisis as data from the World Bank revealed that Sindh had one of the lowest enrolment rates in early childhood education in Pakistan with less than 30 per cent of children aged between three and five years enrolled in preschool programmes.

The petitioner submitted that the absence of proper learning environment, play areas, and age-appropriate learning materials meant that these children were denied their fundamental right to quality education and this unequal access was a breach of the Article 25-A of the Constitution, which mandated the state to provide free and compulsory education to all the children.

He submitted that the Sindh Education Sector Plan of 2018 had specifically aimed at improving access to education for marginalised groups, yet its execution remained minimal, resulting in little progress in expanding early childhood education services in these areas. He submitted that lack of governmental will and resources had deprived thousands of children in the rural and marginalised communities of their basic right to education, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and exclusion.

He submitted that Pakistan was a signatory to various international conventions, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) framework and these international commitments obligated the government to ensure that every child had access to quality early childhood education.

The high court was requested to direct the education department to take immediate and concrete steps to fully implement the ECCE Policy of 2015 and the Sindh Education Sector Plan of 2018, ensuring that early childhood education is prioritised in the education system with adequate budgetary allocations and policy execution.

The SHC was also requested to direct the government to establish a robust monitoring system to track the progress and quality of early childhood education, including the integration of early childhood education data in the Education Management Information System (EMIS) to ensure regular reporting on policy implementation, resource utilisation and educational outcomes.