"Early childhood education is the cornerstone to success of the Fijian educational system."
The Minister for Education Doctor Mahendra Reddy made this comment when he was asked by Government MP Jilila Kumar to give an update on the development of the Early Childhood Education in the past two years.
Reddy says Fiji is one of the countries in the Pacific region that recognises and gives resources to ensure that children are prepared well for primary education.
Reddy says that in the last two years there has been an additional 149 ECE centres that have been established.
He says that from this numbers 84 were funded by the Government of which 47 centres were brand new while the remaining 37 centres were renovated.
He adds that 73 of these projects were for rural and maritime areas.
Reddy says the Government has spent a total of $820,000 to fund these centres.
He says that the Government also funds the salary for teachers of Early Childhood Education centres.
He says that children that are 5 years old and above in ECE centres receive a grant of $50 per term or $150 per year.
Government MP Netani Rika then asked Reddy whether ECE teachers receive first aid or OHS training as they play an important role.
Reddy says in the past two years over 1,223 teachers have been trained in basic first aid training.
