Week 7

Getting to know Your International Contact

Part 3

I came across a article from Malaysia, "Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) in Malaysia at a Glance (for newborns to 6-year-olds)".  In  Malaysia Early childhood care and education (ECCE)  is divided into two age groups, which is 0-4 years and 4-6 years old. 

The first group (0-4 years), comes under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD) which coordinates national programmes on the growth and development of children. Through its Department of Social Welfare, MWFCD keeps a register of all childcare centres (also known as taska) in the country.

 Pre-school education for the second group (4-6 years) comes under three ministries/agencies, i.e. the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, and the National Unity Department.

The article stated that  Malaysian government places a strong emphasis on ECCE and has formulated the National Policy for Early Childhood Education. Under this policy, programmes have been introduced to meet the diverse needs of the crucial early years of newborns till the age of six. These programmes provide a solid foundation for healthy growth and development which expose them to activities in nation building and enhance their readiness for primary school education. The government's involvement in ECCE is evident from its numerous initiatives to make early childhood programmes more accessible especially for less fortunate children and those in rural areas. A significant amount of funds is also allocated for ECCE every year.

In Malaysia, a legislative-approved childcare centre is defined as a premise at which four or more children under the age of four years from more than one household are received to be looked after for reward.
Childcare centres in Malaysia fall into four categories:

• Government-owned childcare centres (Taska dalam komuniti since 2006)
• Workplace childcare centres
• Institution-based childcare centres with 10 children or more
• Home-based childcare centres with fewer than 10 children.

Also  under the law, all childcare centres need to be registered with the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) or more popularly known as Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia (JKM) under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD). MWFCD is responsible for the approval and establishment of childcare centres in the country whilst JKM serves as the main regulator and coordinator of ECCE programmes.

www.schoolmalaysia.com.