Sarawak to promote experiential learning among children

BINTULU: The Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development ministry will promote experiential learning at Early Childhood Education Institutions (ECEI) in Sarawak this year.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said this is because children need to be exposed to experiences through outdoor activities such as visits and so on for them to learn from real life situations.

She said with the provision of Special Annual Grant (SAG) in 2024, it would be used partially for the purpose of visits and activities related to experiential learning.

In addition, she said, the ministry would also continue to strengthen existing programmes and introduce new programmes to instil good values among children from an early age.

Among the programmes are the “Bersih Awal Bersih Akhir” (BaBa) and Save For Golden Future programme.

According to her, the Baba programme is inspired by the practice of OSOJI in Japan which emphasises the practice of hygiene values.

Through the programme, she said, children are taught to ensure that the activity or learning space is clean and tidy before and after the activity.

“Indirectly this practice also fosters responsibility, cooperation and tolerance among children from an early age,” she told reporters after presenting a SAG amounting to RM 5,000 to the chairman of Bintulu

Early Childhood Caregivers and Educators Association (BECCEA), Mariani Jaafar at the premises of the Nursery Permata Kasih, here, yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Save For Golden Future programme fosters a culture of saving and saving for the future that needs to be applied from an early age, she said, adding that Sarawak has implemented the programme from May 2023 through SeDidik.