Early Childhood Education & Development

PDI invests in early childhood education to provide otherwise extremely vulnerable students with the opportunity to succeed in the government education system.  Most students in Bududa begin their education in primary school, at the age of six or seven. Their peers in urban and other areas boasting enhanced government attention (typically nearer big cities) are more likely to begin their education at the age of three or four. These students across the country must sit for the same Primary Level Examinations (PLEs), the scores of which determine entry to secondary schools.  Thus, students in rural, remote Bududa face an extreme disadvantage right from the start of their educational experience. Seventy one percent of children in the district do not make it past the 7th grade. They also score among the lowest in the country on their PLEs.

We opened our pre-primary program in May 2012, which enrolls students aged four to six for early childhood education from 8am-12pm, providing each student with a daily meal. Many of these children would otherwise stay home alone as parents and guardians go off to the field or to work. In order to emphasize the importance of early childhood education, we also facilitate sensitization workshops with parents in the Bududa community. 

The World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund recognize that the ages between 0 and five years are critical stages in a child’s development. At PDI we believe it is absolutely imperative that pre-primary age children gain the confidence and learn the foundational skills necessary to pursue a lifetime of educational success.