Educationists have long argued that good kindergartens can give children an excellent grounding for their primary, secondary and further education. Yet there are still only around 1,500 pre-school establishments operating here in the Kingdom. While the importance of education is clearly recognized by the fact that approaching 30 percent of the state budget now goes on all forms of teaching, the pre-school sector has, until recently, been a marginal concern.
The feeling has been that very young children developed perfectly well within an often-extended family, and that this traditional way of helping a child grow up, was perfectly adequate. This argument still has some force. However, the world is changing fast and our view of education, even of the very young, needs change with it.
The clear advantage of a good kindergarten experience is that a child will be given a sound social grounding, and early on in their lives, mixing and playing with other children, with whom they otherwise have no particular connection. They thus learn social skills and gain in confidence, in a way that might not have come so easily, had they spent these early years among the safety and assurance of familiar family members.
There are many competing theories about how much in the way of formal learning a pre-school child should be exposed to. In some countries, such as Japan and increasingly China, there is something of the hot-house approach, with pupils being encouraged to start to master reading and writing. At the other end of the spectrum, there are educationists that argue that in their very early years, children should progress in the business of learning, very much at their own individual speed. A bright, precious child might well be supported by kindergarten teachers when its comes to literacy. However, the basic tenet is that children learn most from the sheer joy of play, in safe and carefully monitored surroundings, with lots of toys and gadgets.
And very often it is the simplest things, such as play bricks, which will enthrall a young person, rather than the electronic game set that its adoring presents may have bought it. There will be time enough for such technical wizardry. Much better build up something with big wooden bricks and then enjoy the pleasure of knocking it down, or indeed, the grief of having someone else knock it down for them. Then there is the pleasure, which some of us might still just remember, of returning home still with traces of the paint and play dough, we plastered all over ourselves, not least in our hair.
At kindergartens, children learn to get along with strangers and very probably make their first friends, a few of which, may stay with them for the rest of their lives. Properly directed by good teachers, the pre-school educational experience gives young people an exciting and invaluable start in life.
That is why the announcement by Deputy Minister of Education for Women Noura Al-Faiz, that the Kingdom was going to be paying greater attention to kindergarten education, is so welcome. Her ministry has allocated SR 170 million to develop this education for children between the ages of three and six. Moreover, of the 52,000 new jobs in education funded by the 2012 budget, 7,000 are in the pre-school sector. The ministry has put aside SR 2,000 a year for every kindergarten class, as well as SR 8 million for furnishings and educational materials and toys.
It has also approved the Montessori system in private kindergartens. This approach to nursery education is one of those that relies very much on encouraging a child’s independence and freedom within clear limits, on the basis that, in secure surroundings, each little individual will develop at his or her own rate.
The pressures on young people around the globe to understand and handle the challenges of an increasingly complex world, not least in terms of technology and communications, are already considerable. If an outstanding kindergarten education can enhance the wisdom that a family can teach its very young members and prepare them more effectively for their demanding futures, then it is something that parents throughout the Kingdom should be embracing with enthusiasm.
Without the kids, homes may seem empty for a few hours each day, (though some family members may actually value the peace and quiet), but providing the Kingdom can continue to ensure that the right quality pre-school education is being given, in the right way, the growth of the Saudi kindergarten sector is surely a clear win-win.
Editorial: To play to learn
