ARNEC has produced country reports for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, and Singapore on the perspectives of the ECD community on the impacts of COVID-19 on young children and ECD.

Earlier this month, ARNEC released the full regional report done in April-May 2020 amplifying the voice of the ECD community on the impacts of the pandemic on young children and ECD services in the Asia-Pacific.

The country reports were prepared because of the significant number of respondents from said countries.

Download the individual country report

• Bangladesh 
• Bhutan 
• India 
• Indonesia 
• Nepal 
• Philippines 
• Singapore 

Click here for the full narrative report with technical notes.

Click here for the summary of survey findings.

This webinar provides an opportunity to hear from governments about plans and policies for re-opening ECD centres and pre-schools and addressing disparities and vulnerabilities faced by disadvantaged, marginalised young children at the country level.

In this webinar, we raise the following questions:

1. What are the plans, approaches and strategies of the countries in re-opening pre-schools and ECD centres?

2. How have the disparities and vulnerabilities faced by disadvantaged, marginalised young children before COVID-19 likely increased as a result of the pandemic?

3. What actions are being taken or can be taken to mitigate these increased disparities especially for the disabled and the poor, for those who might have been excluded on account of location, refugee status, gender, ethnicity, faith, and/or language?

Agenda Part I : (14:00 - 14:30)

H.E. Dr Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, the Royal Government of Cambodia, will be making his keynote address followed by an open forum.

Agenda Part II (14:30-16:00)

Country presentations ( Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines) followed by Q&A session.

Panel speakers:

1. Ms. Maki Hayashikawa, Chief, Section for Inclusive Quality Education, UNESCO Bangkok

2. Dr. Teresita G. Inciong: Executive Director and Vice-Chair, ECCD Council of the Philippines

3. Dr. Muhammad Hasbi: Director of Early Childhood Education, Ministry of Education and Culture, Government of Indonesia

4. Mr. Yu Jiantuo: Deputy Secretary-General, China Development Research Foundation (CDRF)

5. H.E. Prak Kosal, Deputy Secretary General of NC-ECCD, and Director of Early Childhood Education Department, MoEYS

6. Dr. Tulashi P Thapaliya, Director General, Centre for Education and Human Resource Development, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), Government of Nepal

7. Mr. Sherab Phuntshok, Chief of Special Education Needs and ECCD Division, Ministry of Education, Bhutan

CLICK here for the presentation slides deck.

CLICK here for the webinar recording on Youtube. 

Related resources: 

• Save Our Education report by Save the Children International. Please visit: https://www.savethechildren.net/save-our-education 
• UNESCO : From disruption to recover. Please visit: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse 
• UNICEF : Childcare in a global crisis - the impact of COVDI-19 on work and family life. Please visit: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/1109-childcare-in-a-global-crisis-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-work-and-family-life.html 
• Center on the Developing Child, Hardvard University: Thinking About Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Impacts Through a Science-Informed, Early Childhood Lens. Please visit: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/thinking-about-racial-disparities-in-covid-19-impacts-through-a-science-informed-early-childhood-lens/ 
• ARNEC Conversations: Ambedkhar University Delhi experts call for inclusion, action against vulnerabilities of young children under COVID. 
• ARNEC Conversations: What is the world post-covid?  

This webinar aims to understand the situation of early childhood educators and childcare professionals in the Asia-Pacific Region, the impact of COVID-19 on the ECCE Workforce and discuss interventions to support them during and beyond the pandemic.

The key questions that will be answered in the webinar are:

1. What is the role of the ECD/ECE workforce in fostering access to quality of early childhood education and childcare services?

2. What is the impact of COVID-19 on early childhood educators (pre-school teachers, childcare professionals and daycare workers) in government-supported and privately-run pre-schools and childcare centres in the region?

3. What interventions are necessary for the ECE workforce as pre-schools and ECD centres prepare to re-open and transition to blended learning approaches, including use of online platforms, among others?

4. What can we learn from institutions supporting the ECD workforce to address the impacts of COVID-19 on early childhood educators?

The speakers and topics are found below:

Ms Maki Hayashikawa, UNESCO Bangkok, "ECCE Workforce matters"

Dr. Chiam Heng Keng, Founding President of the ECCE Council Malaysia and Professional Early Childhood Educators (MAPECE), 

"Impact of COVID-19 and the Interventions for ECE Workforce"

Ms Samantha Page, Early Childhood Australia

"Supporting educators, teachers and service leaders through the pandemic – information sharing and online professional development"

Ms Tan Lee Jee, PAP Community Foundation, Singapore

"COVID-19: Adapting to change"

This webinar was moderated by Ms Jessica Hampton, Education Advisor at ChildFund Australia and ARNEC Steering Committee Member, (Core Team Representative).

Click here for the presentation slides deck.

Click here for the webinar recording on YouTube.

Related resources: 

• Early Childhood Workforce Initiative. COVID-19 position statement, Five Priority Actions to Protect, Support, and Strengthen the Early Childhood Workforce. Please visit: https://www.earlychildhoodworkforce.org/content/covid-19-resources-early-childhood-workforce