98.9 per cent of Sarawak's children receive preschool education

KUCHING, Sept. 25: 98.9 percent of children in Sarawak receive preschool education before entering Year One, indicating access to early childhood education in the state is now almost universal.

Sarawak's Minister of Women, Child Development and Community Welfare Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the achievement should not be seen as a figure but rather an incentive to ensure that 1.1 percent of children also have access to quality preschool education.

He said the achievement was a result of the continued commitment of government agencies, private providers, communities, teachers, educators and parents in ensuring that children have a solid educational foundation from early childhood.

"This shows that pre-school education in Sarawak is now almost complete, but efforts need to be continued to ensure no children are excluded", he said at the inaugural session of the Sarawak International Pre-School Convention (SPIC) 2026 here today.

The inauguration ceremony was completed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

Fatimah said that efforts to strengthen access to early childhood education should go hand-in-hand with aspects of equality and quality so that every child, regardless of background or ability, gets the support needed to develop.

In this regard, he said, the Ministry of Women, Child Development and Community Welfare of Sarawak is developing the Sarawak Early Childhood Education and Care Framework (ECCE) to provide a clearer and consistent direction for the sector.

He said the framework would cover aspects of access and quality, inclusiveness, child development and learning, educator professionalism, family engagement, safe environment, early detection and intervention as well as transition to formal education.

"The framework also aims to define the quality of ECCEs that are appropriate to the context of Sarawak and coordinate efforts of various agencies and service providers based on the results they want to achieve for children", he said.