1. ECCE is a right, recognized by the
Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by 194 countries.
2. ECCE is crucial for nurturing healthy,
strong bodies and minds and optimal wiring and functioning of the brain. The
brain develops most rapidly in the earliest years of life.
3. ECCE can help create the defenses
of peace in the minds of young children, and encourage values important for
living together and sustainable development.
4. ECCE has a beneficial effect on school
preparedness and later learning, and leads to higher school enrolment, particularly
for girls.
5. ECCE is cost-effective in that it
serves as preventive measures, saving cost for later compensation and remedial
interventions.
6. ECCE provides child care essential
for supporting working parents and enabling older siblings’ schooling.
7. ECCE yields higher investment returns
than in any other levels of education. It benefits taxpayers and enhances
economic vitality and productivity.
8. ECCE levels the playing field by
compensating for disadvantages in the family and reducing inequalities between
rich and poor. It is thus a key component to breaking the cycle of intergenerational
poverty.
9. ECCE is fundamental and a foundational
step to achieving other EFA goals and Millennium Development Goals
10. ECCE can lay the foundation for
a transformative society leading to the realization of gender equality.
