A suitable plan should be created, according to Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, for the upbringing and instruction of children.
The fourth International Conference on Early Childhood Development (ECD) got underway on Wednesday at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), with a focus on creating an all-encompassing ECD plan.
The inaugural session was presided over by Prof. Dr. Nasir Mehmood, Vice Chancellor of AIOU, and Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), was the chief guest.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the Pakistan Alliance for Early Childhood, the Rupani Foundation, Save the Children, the Shifa Foundation, Sightsaver, the Aga Khan Foundation, and Aga Khan University, the Faculty of Education at AIOU is hosting this conference. According to Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Pakistan places a lot of emphasis on professional and higher education, but it neglects early childhood education.
He claimed that in order to promote ECD throughout the nation, the Ministry of Planning and Development took action in this direction in 2007. He claimed that Allama Iqbal Open University, along with other groups like the Rupani Foundation and the Pakistan Alliance for Early Childhood, played a crucial role in this national cause.
A suitable plan should be created, according to Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, for the upbringing and instruction of children. He recognised the merits of the ECD conference and the organisers’ and participants’ hard work.
The conference’s recommendations, according to VC, AIOU, Prof. Dr. Nasir Mehmood, would aid the government in developing an effective strategy. According to him, AIOU would keep up its initiatives and programs to further the goal of early child development.
In order to lay a solid foundation for children’s education, he stated that the ECD centre building would have its foundation stone laid tomorrow at AIOU. The goals and history of the international conference on ECD were described by Khadija Khan, CEO of the Pakistan Alliance for Early Childhood.
Nasruddin Rupani, chairman of the Rupani Foundation, stated that thousands of students have graduated from ECD centres that our foundation established all over the nation. He claimed that the Ministry of Education and AIOU would assist in completing the Early Childhood Development Network. The services provided by the Ministry of Planning and Development for ECD were thoroughly explained by Dr. Nazir Ahmed.
Abdullah Fadil, the country representative for UNICEF; Dr. Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, the country representative for the World Health Organization; Dr. Adil Haider, the dean of the Aga Khan University, Dr. Khadija Azhar, the executive director of the Shifa Foundation; and Muhammad Rafiq Tahir, the senior advisor for the Center of Excellence at the AIOU, were among the other speakers at the conference.