17.02.2017   17:39

In Kyrgyzstan, there are a number of issues related to the education of preschool children. Almost all Soviet-era child care centers have been privatized, destroyed or are in poor condition. These centers once housed hundreds of children. That ownership of the buildings previously housing kindergartens passed into the hands of the authorities of the time is no secret, but some among them were later transferred back into state ownership. These buildings have been well maintained and provide better care for their children than they did in the Soviet period.

According to statistics, only 34% of children in Kyrgyzstan have the opportunity to attend kindergarten because of lack of childcare places. In connection with this, citizens, entrepreneurs, and NGOs are all opening private and seasonal kindergartens. Additionally, a new type of preschools has recently appeared – maternal schools. Maternal schools mainly accept children of migrants, people with disabilities, low-income families, and farmers. WPU Erayim has carried out work to increase the number of such schools. For example, in the villages of Bazar-Korgon and Akman (Bazar-Korgon district of Jalal-Abad province) and in the Aitmatov district of Jalal-Abad itself, twenty maternal schools have been opened and are operating successfully.

Five of them are included in the budget, providing education for 508 children. The remaining 15 schools are seasonal. In other words, these seasonal maternal schools work when parents are needed in the fields, namely in spring and summer. Children in such seasonal kindergartens receive a full pre-school education and three meals a day. In other words, parents do not have to worry about their children while they are working in the fields. There are 180 children in such seasonal kindergartens. 92 people are involved in the running of maternal schools in Bazar-Korgon district and 16 schools have been established in the villages of Mady, Shark and Kyzyl-Kyshtak, in the Kara-Suu district of Osh province. There are 600 children in these schools, with 60 people working in the schools. Creating maternal schools contributes helps preschool children receive an education and creates new jobs.

"At first, it was not easy to open the maternal school because you had to travel many villages to carry out explanatory work. Many did not understand us and there was no support from people. They treated us with indifference and did not believe us. Many people said: “You will take ourchildren and let them play couple of games and let them go home, its better if they stay under our own supervision at home." We told to them: "No, we will teach them, we will provide three meals a day; we will prepare them for school, as other preschools do." We tried to convince them, and had to persuade the parents to let us take children from their homes. "Today parents bring children to our schools and they say: “Please accept our child to your school, so that he learns something as well," said the coordinator of the SHG of Jalal-Abad province, Kishimzhan Boronbaeva.

The maternal schools project has been extended and to aid this an experienced specialist on maternal schools, the head of the resource center of the №86 kindergarten in Bishkek, Dilnara Maygulakova, conducted training on 4th and 5th February 2017 on the theme ‘normative legal acts and the necessary documentation for the heads of the maternal schools’ in Jalal-Abad province, and on 6th and 7th February in Osh . This training included the following topics: Education Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, Development Strategy until 2020 (2012), The Law on Education of the Kyrgyz Republic (2003), Education and upbringing of children of preschool age (2012, State Education Standard), Convention of children's rights, Code of Kyrgyz children, Act on Board of Trustees 2014, The situation of maternal school, Formation of the competence of leaders and teachers of the public and other new preschools in the upbringing and education of children, "Basic components of the formation of state and municipal pre-school institutions, Program of maternal schools, Basic documents of maternal schools, Development of working programs of maternal schools, and Pedagogical process planning.

We hope that this training will be an instrument following the introduction of maternal schools organized by SHG members.

"A child is of preschool age from his birth up to seven years old, the time of his admission to the school. During the Soviet Union, a child from six months old was under the care of the state. There was not any child who would not go to kindergarten. Even in remote villages, institutions such as kindergartens operated. Now it is not like that. For this reason, the Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic is implementing the ‘Nariste’ project. It noted that every child of pre-school age should be provided with all kind of care. Due to the lack of kindergartens, on the initiative of internal and external sponsors, maternal Schools are opening. In this regard, Women Public Union is doing a good job. It has planned to increase the number of maternal schools to 500 across the country. There are currently 20 in Jalal-Abad region alone and next year this number could reach 40. According to D. Maygulakova, this is because there is an understanding from the parents and the support of the state.

Baktykan Azhymamatova, Jalal-Abad province