We must invest in young children and ensure their parents and communities have the tools they need to help them

Maniza Ntekim talks about her work on early childhood development for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which partners with Theirworld in Kenya.

Every child deserves the best start in life - including a healthy birth and quality and inclusive early childhood development and education. But too many children from poorer and marginalised households are unable to access the support and care they need.

Early childhood development (ECD) has been a core part of Theirworld’s work for many years, with a focus more recently on investment in early childhood education (ECE).

In Kenya, Theirworld has been partnering with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to advocate for young children and ensure there is adequate investment in their ECD and learning.

In the latest in our Spotlight On ... series, which features inspiring people from the world of education, we speak to Maniza Ntekim about her work as Senior Programme Officer for the Early Childhood Development East and Southern Africa Initiative at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Can you tell us about why the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation invests in early childhood development? 

The foundation has been driven to invest in ECD for three main reasons. Firstly, by our founder, Conrad Hilton, who identified children as a primary focus for the foundation’s work in his last will and testament.

Secondly, by the evidence from neuroscience, economics and human development showing that the best investment any society can make, if it wants to tackle inequity and social exclusion and achieve sustainable development, is to invest in early childhood development.

Finally, knowing that millions of children are missing out on an opportunity to develop fully keeps us up at night, so we are really committed to this agenda.

The learning crisis is such a huge problem to solve. What keeps you motivated when the obstacles feel too big to overcome? 

I have had the greatest privilege and fortune to meet with many parents, families, school leaders, local community champions and influential national and sub-national decision-makers in my time.

Seeing their commitment to do the best they can for their children and the children they are responsible for is really inspiring.

For me the learning crisis has to be overcome - there’s no choice. Through education, individuals, families and societies will be able to determine their own destiny. That’s what always keeps me motivated.

What are the immediate steps you’d take to resolve the learning crisis?

For me there are three issues. Firstly, there’s the failure to make sure that children come to school ready to learn - and that’s why the investment in the early years is most critical.

Secondly, there isn’t enough focus on quality and on making sure that schools are themselves ready to welcome children and support their learning. There are three things at the heart of quality. There’s what the children learn (curriculum), how they’re taught (learning methodologies) and who they’re taught by (teachers).

If we can get those right, we will have more children arriving in school, staying in school and moving on to bigger and better things.

The final thing often overlooked is the equity angle. We know that inequalities begin in utero. Some families and children need all the help they can get. We need to shift our funding models so that more goes to the youngest, more goes to the most neglected geographical areas and more goes to the groups most often left behind - including children with disabilities, children caught up in conflict, children from minority ethnic groups and girls.

What is the greatest lesson you have learnt outside of the classroom?

I think the most insightful thing I have learnt is that most learning happens outside of the classroom! Learning starts in the womb, it is fostered and supported in homes and communities and the most important teachers are parents and caregivers. Covid-19 has surely taught us all that. 

What are your reflections from working on ECD in Kenya?

There is such a great opportunity in Kenya for all aspects of ECD. Kenya has one of the most sophisticated systems of devolution in East and Southern Africa.

Because ECD has been devolved to local levels, there is a really good opportunity to support parents and their young children closer to home.

Another great opportunity is the drive and ambition around health and education. The provision of universal health care has been a major priority for the presidency and the opportunity this affords for ensuring the health system is better capacitated to support ECD is fantastic.

Kenyans believe in education and invest heavily in education. Kenya has one of the highest rates of enrolment in ECD - over three-quarters of children go to pre-primary school.

But there is need for three additional things:

• More public financial investment in the early years. At least 10% of the education budget should go to early childhood education and there should be more investment in primary healthcare and tracking of how that investment supports ECD.
• A clear policy framework for ECD and legislation that is implemented to ensure children’s multiple needs are addressed and that all sectors including health, education and social welfare are delivering on their responsibilities when it comes to young children.
• ECD recognised and positioned as a high national priority, with decision-makers and other influencers at national and local levels vocally and actively supporting this agenda.

A longer version of this interview will appear on Theirworld’s website.

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Our weekly roundup of global education news also looks at a return to school for millions of children in Venezuela after more than a year of classroom closures.

Celebrating diversity through Black History Month in the UK

The achievements and contributions of Black British people have been celebrated during October, as the United Kingdom marks Black History Month. In our day-to-day work at Theirworld, we have placed a greater emphasis on working with our project partners, staff and broader community to diversify perspectives and learn from one another.

As Black History Month in the UK comes to a close, we have selected some of the most interesting resources and creative ways of celebrating Black history with our network. Some of these are directly related to our core mission of providing education and opportunity for all young people.

Calling all former Global Youth Ambassadors

Were you a part of Theirworld’s initiative A World at School? Did you meet fellow education activists that you’re still in contact with? If you are a former Global Youth Ambassador, we would love to hear from you. Share with us your updates, projects and news since graduating the programme.

💬 Quote of the week 💬

"I often see the impacts of climate change in my country - whether it’s drought, flooding or landslides. Often, this means children can’t go to school as they can’t physically get there. We can see first-hand here how climate change is already having an impact on education. This makes me sad as education is a basic need - it’s our future."

Dilmani, 14, from Sri Lanka, talking to Save the Children ahead of the COP26 climate change conference.

Did you know? 🤔

85.4 CO2 gigatons 🌎

Universal education and health interventions can have a direct impact on climate change. The resulting reductions in emissions globally could be as high as 85.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide between 2020 and 2050.

From the Education and Climate Change section of The Key, Theirworld’s online resource for education advocates.

📚 What we're reading this week.

🚌 Fatima, 13, and her fellow students encounter problems most days when they go to school. Learn more about a day in the life of a Palestine refugee student in the West Bank.

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Thank you,

The Their News team