Equal Opportunity In The Nursery Setting

The Encarta World English Dictionary defines equal opportunity as "the availability of the same rights, position, and status to all people, regardless of gender, sexual preference, age, race, ethnicity, or religion." In the nursery setting this would mean that each child should be guaranteed access to particpate in all aspects of the nursery setting regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic status. A child that is denied access to fully participate in all that the nursery has to offer may feel excluded, have low self-esteem and develop social or emotional problems. The child's right to quality care and education in the early years is not only the responsibility of parents and childcare professionals but also government officials who formulate legislation and policy.

In recent years the issue of children's rights has been the topic of much discussion and debate. The United Nations General Assembly, in recognizing that children are individuals with the rights to survival, development, protection and participation, adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989. Article 2 of the UNCRC clearly stresses the need to "respect and ensure the rights Ð'...(of) each child Ð'... without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's Ð'... race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status." The existence of equal opportunity in the nursery setting ensures that the child is allowed the freedom to develop emotionally, physically and spiritually without any discrimination.

Malaysia's commitment to the development of children in the areas of survival, protection and development existed long before Malaysia became a signatory to the UNCRC in 1995. Through the National Action Plan for Children (1991-2000) steps were taken to improve the quality of care for children at childcare centres and kindergartens nationwide. Accordingly, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and the private sector run programmes on the basis of total development approach henceforth ensuring the child's well-being and quality living. In concurrence with Article 28 (1) of the UNCRC, which stipulates education for all children, Malaysia has provided access to pre-school programmes for children without discrimination against gender, race, and ethnicity, social or economic status. The government, followed by the NGO's and other private organizations, largely conducts pre-school education. The three agencies responsible for providing pre-school education are the Ministry of Education, which can be considered the lead agency, The Department of Social Development, which concentrates on urban and semi-urban areas and KEMAS (Community Development Division), under the Ministry of Rural Development, which concentrates on the rural areas. The pre-school programmes run by the Ministry of Rural Development ensure that children from the rural areas, particularly those from the low socio-economic group are not deprived of the educational experiences, which can prepare them for primary school. The Ministry of Education has also played its part in helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds through several programs like the Food Supplementary Program, School Milk Program, Textbook Loan Scheme, Boarding Facilities, Poor Student Trust Fund and the Tuition Voucher Scheme (Mokshein, 2004). These measures taken help ensure that the children in the rural areas and those from the low socio-economic group are not left behind by their peers who live in the urban and semi-urban areas.

The Ministry of National Unity also runs pre-school programmes with the objective of inculcating goodwill among the ethnic groups in Malaysia. In doing so, the government has succeeded in implementing the principles stated in Article 30 and 31 of the UNCRC, which describes the provision of equal opportunities for the child of a minority and ethnic race. In Malaysia this would include those from the indigenous tribes (Orang Asli) and those from the smaller and lesser known ethnicity in East Malaysia. The challenges with regards to educating indigenous children are vast, as some of these children live in remote and inaccessible areas without regular transport services. Although participation rate is low among the Orang Asli children, measures have been taken to encourage their attendance in school. Provision of school uniforms, food rations and textbooks are among the steps taken to reduce the high dropout rate which is dependent on the seasonal nature of their household chores. In 1999, the Ministry of Education, with partial funding by UNICEF initially, introduced the Special Remedial Programme (SRP) for Orang Asli children with the sole purpose of improving the quality of education among them - particularly in their reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Studies have shown that the SRP has succeeded in achieving a higher attendance rate in school among the Orang Asli children (SUHAKAM, 2005). Although the government has taken steps to ensure that the indigenous children have equal access to an all-round education, there is still "the need to integrate culture, lifestyle, language and special abilities into the curriculum, to make school more meaningful and relevant to the children." (SUHAKAM (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia) Roundtable Discussion: The Indigenous Community's Right to Education held on October 2005).

Article 23 of the UNCRC addresses the right of the disabled to special care, education and training to enjoy a full and decent life in dignity. In Malaysia, the Education Act 1996 defines children with special needs as children with visual, hearing and learning disabilities. The Act regards children with learning disabilities as educable - but to be taught using a modified curriculum and special classrooms in regular schools. Inclusive education, introduced in 1995 is still regarded as functional education of students with disabilities with their non-disabled peers. There are two types of special education programmes available in Malaysian schools: remedial education and special education. Children with visual, hearing and physical disabilities with normal intelligence are educated in normal classrooms with appropriate resources and services. Although the government has taken steps to ensure that children with special needs are not discriminated in terms of the care and education available to them, there are still a number of constraints concerning the implementation of special education programmes. The diversity and severity of disability in children of special needs means that some children may not be fully integrated into main stream schools. To this end the Ministry of Education has welcomed and acknowledged