Two-thirds of the 90 million Chinese children belonging to the 0-6 age bracket are still living in the country's rural areas, getting insufficient early childhood education, UNICEF revealed.
The results of a survey on early childhood development (ECD), which were released on Thursday, covered global empirical evidence showing that ECD is vital to the overall growth of an individual.
During a press briefing in Beijing, UNICEF's senior global advisor on ECD, Prof. Pia Britto, noted: "Early brain development and function is the foundation for learning, behavior and capabilities later in life."
Prof. Britto emphasized that "investing in early interventions for the most disadvantaged children is the most effective and cost-effective way for societies to ensure all children develop their full potential."
Back in 2010, the country's State Council has already called for an ECD expansion. Furthermore, the coverage of the government's early childhood care efforts has increased from 2000's 35 percent statistic to a 67.5-percent figure in 2013.
The Chinese government has also targeted to launch universal pre-school education in 2020.
For the expansion of pre-primary education in the remotest and poorest areas of China, the government has allotted 50 billion yuan. This endeavor has started in 2011 and slated to end this year.
Dr. Chen Xuefeng, UNICEF China's education specialist, lauded these ECD ventures, stating that "these commitments made by the Chinese government demonstrate how important this investment in early childhood care is for the country's long-term development."
Dr. Chen also pointed out that ECD is not just an issue that need's government intervention, but it also concerns parents and other related professionals.
"We continue to give priority to building the skills, knowledge and understanding of teachers, health workers as well as parents and grandparents on why these first few years of life are so vital for a child's longer term development and how through new types of interventions, they can be part of this investment," the education specialist enthused.
The same sentiment was echoed by Dr. Chemba Baghavan, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific's education specialist, saying: "With the ongoing initiatives of ECD in many areas, parents could reach the 'belief' level through community interventions."
The survey led by the Peking University and the National Institute of Education Sciences also showed that more investments in teaching training would entail better child development results.
After laying out pre-school infrastructure, the government's aim now is to strengthen its quality of ECD services for the welfare of rural preschoolers.