Finalization and validation of the initial and continuing training curriculum for the early childhood education sub-sector

Three days of constructive work, accompanied by captivating exchanges, culminated in finalizing and validating the initial and in-service training curriculum for the early childhood education sub-sector (3-5 years) in Chad.

This curriculum, the first of its kind in the country, is the fruitful outcome of a co-construction process between the Ministry of National Education and Civic Promotion and the Ministry for Women's Affairs. The aim is to contribute to an in-depth transformation and consolidation of the Chadian education system.

In addition to the learning curriculum recently developed with UNICEF, the country is acquiring complementary strategic tools to support the quality of education: the professional skills repository and an initial and in-service training curriculum for the early childhood sub-sector.

The workshop, held in N'Djamena from October 23 to 25, 2023, and organized by UNESCO-IBE, was to provide the country with an initial and in-service training curriculum for Early Childhood Education professionals. This was achieved by exploring and sharing synergies with ongoing educational reforms, particularly those linked to school curricula. This workshop follows the previous ones (in May and June 2023), which led to the development of a skills repository for early childhood teachers, educators, and facilitators in Chad.

"In the past, preschool was considered a mere crèche, but today, we know it constitutes the necessary continuum before elementary school. It is impossible to have a solid elementary school without a quality preschool," said the Secretary General of the Ministry of National Education and Civic Promotion at the workshop's opening.

The Director-General of the Ministry for Women’s Affairs praised the government's efforts to transform national education, particularly early childhood education. "This curriculum document will contribute to quality education from early childhood onwards," she added.

Experts in early childhood education and those involved in the development and implementation of this initial and continuing training curriculum An initial and in-service training curriculum for the Early Childhood Education sub-sector (3-5 years) has been finalized and validated, with a common language integrated by early childhood education professionals into the vision of quality education in Chad.

1. An initial and in-service training curriculum for the Early Childhood Education sub-sector (3-5 years) has been finalized and validated, with a common language integrated by early childhood education professionals into the vision of quality education in Chad.

2. Participants have developed or strengthened their knowledge and skills in analyzing and developing an initial and continuing training curriculum for the early childhood education sub-sector (3-5 years).

3. Collaborations and potential sources of synergy and complementarity of the initial and continuing training curriculum with other reforms have been identified and integrated.

As part of the implementation of the Tashkent Declaration, recently adopted last November by all Member States at the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), UNESCO-IBE is supporting Chad in the implementation of Axis 10 of the Education and Literacy Strengthening Project (PREAT). Axis 10 aims to build capacity for the development of a competency framework for preschool teachers, educators, and facilitators, as well as the elaboration of an initial and in-service training curriculum aligned with the preschool curriculum, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) currently being finalized, as well as all other relevant national work in progress, notably on the development of a Common Curriculum Orientation Framework (CCOF) and the curriculum framework for teachers in the Sahel Region.