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EFA Goal One: Expanding Early Childhood Care and Education 23● Review ECCE curriculum and ensurequality of programmes.● Ensure that teachers are qualifiedand provide continuous pre- andin-service trainings.● Improve data collection. Conductsurvey on needs and interventionsmade by organizations.● Strengthen monitoring andassessment.● Launch advocacy and awarenesscampaigns.● Adopt flexible/innovative strategies.● Expand and improve facilities andmaterials for early childhoodeducation.● Representatives from the DemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea alsorecommended that governmentsincrease their investments to developECCE programmes in remote areasand islets.● Focus on games, social interaction,etc. in ECCE programmes, not juston imparting knowledge. Someparticipants suggested that in the0-3 age group, the emphasis shouldbe on care, while “education” shouldbe the focus in the 3-6 age group.However, others noted that even inthe early years, education isimportant, and that both aspectsshould be integrated. It was alsostressed that emotional and sociallearning are very important,particularly for the 3-6 age group,with cognitive skills and impartingknowledge not being the mainelements of learning at that stage.Recommendations of EducationStatisticians to Improve DataCollectionEducation statisticians noted that mostcountries collect data on ECCE but thecoverage is partial in some countries.Countries in South-East Asia, forexample, collect data on the number ofpre-schools and day care centres, thenumber of teachers, and ECCEenrolment by age, sex, and whether inpublic or private centres.Thailand and Sri Lanka are examplesof countries that collect data on thehealth and nutrition status of preprimaryschool children.The education statisticians recommendedthat countries should alsocollect data from:● Ethnic/indigenous groups● Disadvantaged groups● Remote areas/areas in conflict● Community-managed centresThe group also acknowledged thatquality of data is a problem forcountries. To improve data collectionand ensure the quality and accuracy ofdata, statisticians suggested thefollowing:● Proper coordination amongconcerned agencies.● Legal intervention by providingthe necessary legislation.● Mobilization of all stakeholders.● Data should be collectedthrough a single agency.● Accountability of data providers.● Undertaking national andsub-national capacity-building.Education for All: Reaching the Unreached