WCARO Khamis Final Koranic Pre-Schools Briefing Paper

Points forts

This Briefing Paper has been developed for UNICEF Western and Central Africa Regional Office WCARO as it considers available knowledge and approaches to promoting pre-school education for marginalised Muslim children. The impetus to promote pre-schooling arises from the Education for All (EFA) initiative, goal one: expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable.

International statistics claim the marginalised communities, including Muslims, are least likely to access pre-schooling, which has proven benefits for overall human development with positive impact on health, psychosocial well-being and socio-economic benefits into adulthood. However, it is also evident that almost 100% of Muslim children access Koranic pre-schools and that such schooling is universally available. Little is known about these schools and their programmes are not well documented.