‘Send children to early learning centres’

Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Jean Sendeza has urged parents and guardians in Mangochi District to send their children to early childhood development centres.

She said this on Wednesday when she visited Chiwaula Community-Based Childcare Centre (CBCC) in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mtelera in the district.

Chiwaula is among the 15 CBCCs government has constructed in the district with funding from the World Bank to promote early learning under Investing in Early Years Project.

Sendeza said early learning was crucial in the development of children.

“CBCCs are nurseries that build a good foundation for children’s education, as such, send your children to the facility,” she said.

Mangochi East legislator Francesca Masamba (Democratic Progressive Party) commended the minister’s visit, saying it will encourage parents and guardians to send their children to CBCCs.

She pledged to work with community structures to promote education at grass roots level.

T/A Mtelera said the structure will motivate children to go to school.

“They say children who attend elementary classes at CBCCs perform better in primary schools. I will encourage my subjects to send their children to early learning centres,” she said.

One of the parents, Aisha Ousman, said her child has acquired basic literacy at the CBCC.

“My child now counts from 0 to 20 and can recite the 26 letters of the alphabet,” she said.

Ousman said she was optimistic that her child will perform well when she enrolls in primary school in the new academic year in September.

Besides instructing children, CBCCs also promote nutrition