Catching Them Early

NEPAL’S long educational strides over the past decades notwithstanding, it remains a fact that education and care for the very young ones remains an area where the strides are not that big. Jumps in literacy rates, though quite remarkable, have not matched the results in the field of early childhood development. The biggest attention in children’s education being monopolised by primary schooling, it was left for only much later that more systematic thoughts were given to taking care of children early on. Out of the realisation that some of the basic rights of children have to be taken care of even before he/she reaches the school-going age, early childhood development has come in the recent years to occupy a place for intervention. As a result, many early childhood development centres have been established across the country through the efforts of the government and non-government sectors. There is now a general agreement that catching the young ones early and taking care of them in terms of education, nutrition, health and other inputs goes to help in an all-round development of children much better than just sending them straight to Grade I when they reach the age of six. But early childhood care away from home comes with a cost that many Nepalese parents are not able to afford, given the general socio-economic conditions. The government, with help from other non-government institutions and organisations, have to take a lead in further promoting early childhood development and setting up child care centres.

Votaries of early childhood development could take heart from Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s assurance, made at the inauguration national conference on early childhood development Monday, that early childhood development would be one of the main subjects of the coming Tenth periodic plan. He disclosed that an early childhood development national coordination committee was being mulled over too for effective implementation of the programmes in this respect and coordination among related agencies. The government and those engaged in this area must explore ways of further popularising the concept and generating resources for it. Arguments in favour of early childhood development must be more stridently made when budgetary and policy discussions are being held at national or district levels. For, in a country where for example 53 per cent of children are victims of malnutrition, early childhood development centres that have a holistic approach to the physical and mental development of very young ones during their most formative years must be emphasised as a priority.

Global Warming: Big Threat

THE effects of global warming are not anything imagined or out of the blues but are real and send a very disturbing message. The Himalayan meadows and the Terai grasslands, the natural habitats in Nepal, are under severe threat, according to the World Wildlife Fund scientists. This is quite serious as the belief so far was that the effect of global warming was confined to the developed world and not underdeveloped or developing nations. This belief stemmed from the fact the excessive use of fossil fuel and industrialisation together with the use of ozone depleting chemicals resulted in the raising of the global temperature over a period of time. Now that the facts have been revealed that it is a problem not limited to only a few countries but a global phenomenon. Home to some of the rare flora and fauna, the Himalayan and the Terai region can boast as the places that attract a large number of visitors. But human interference including the encroachment of natural habitat and the pollution of water sources and poaching have resulted in heavy losses of wildlife and herbs and other species of plants. The people may not be serious at the present as long as their short-term interests are fulfilled. Poaching and deforestation has added a new dimension to the scenario. With the depletion of the green cover, the chances of desertification are as high as what global warming can do. It is not within our power to stop global warming but a concerted effort can be undertaken so that the causes behind this particular phenomenon are identified and a common strategy chalked out. The natural habitats are bearing the onslaught of uncalled for human activities. Without seriousness on the part of the advanced countries, the natural habitats around the world will have to bear the brunt. There is no time to waste but urgency has to speak. This is plain and clear.