Early childhood development centers to be developed on regional libraries’ basis

Bishkek, Aug.7, 2019. /Kabar/. In accordance with Government assignment, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic together with the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism approved the Concept of Establishment of Pilot Early Development Centers on the basis of regional libraries, the Action Plan and training module for librarians. This became known at a meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Altynai Omurbekova on the sustainable functioning of child development centers.
The Government’s press service said experts from UNICEF participated in the development of the Concept.
"The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has set a target to provide preschool education for 80 % of children by 2023. For this purpose, we must use various alternative options to provide preschool education on the basis of kindergartens, libraries and other possible sites, using the principles of public-private partnership and state social order in the field of preschool education," the deputy prime minister said.
At present, similar centers have been opened on the basis of 9 regional libraries in each oblast of the country on a pilot basis, which are equipped with educational materials, and library staff has received special training on working with children. These centers cover about 400 children. In the future, it is planned to cover another 40 regional libraries, where such centers will be opened.
As a result of the meeting, instructions were given to improve the standards of work with children in early development centers, as well as to raise the salaries and encourage librarians working directly with children.