More than 30,000 preschool-aged children in Tajikistan received illustrated storybooks
UNICEF and partners enhance young children's reading culture from early years for better school readiness
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In August 2021, UNICEF in Tajikistan in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan distributed 40,000 copies of illustrated, age-appropriate, and child-friendly storybooks for young children in more than 1,000 Early Childhood Education Centers across Tajikistan, including Sughd – 11,600 copies, Khatlon – 15,600 copies, GBAO – 4,400 copies and DRS – 2,000 copies.
These books are a product of a collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Science, UNICEF, USAID, and the Open Society Institute in Tajikistan, aimed at supporting preschool-aged children's readiness for school and overall cognitive and emotional development.
The first handover ceremony with the participation of early childhood education specialists, representatives of the local education departments, and UNICEF was conducted in Khujand city of Sughd province on the 21st of August, 2021.
We had a need for these books to get our Early Childhood Education Centers better equipped. These books were needed as water and air also for quality functioning of Early Education Centers.
Followed by the Sughd province, the handover ceremony also took place in the Rasht province on the 26th of August, 2021. The main characters of the books Manizha, Bezhan, and their puppy Vafodor are already familiar to children from the edutainment animation programme for preschool-aged children called “Sanduqchayi Zulbiyo” (Magic Box), which served as an inspiration for the development of a collection of twenty storybooks within the joint initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science, UNICEF, USAID, and the Open Society Institute in Tajikistan.
"Sanduqchayi Zulbiyo” (Magic Box) is a fifty-episode edutainment (combination of education and entertainment) series, developed by local child media specialists, educational specialists, writers, and artists that takes into account national identity and culture and is aimed at supporting preschool education of children in Tajikistan. The animation programme series are available in Tajik and other ethnic minority languages, like Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz languages as well as sign language to include all children in the learning process.
It is expected that the distributed materials will benefit more than 30,000 preschool-aged children in 1,000 Early Education Centers in Tajikistan and help children develop early reading skills, creative thinking, and social-emotional development.
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“I'm very glad we have received these “Magic Box” animation series DVDs. They are very welcomed by the Uzbek-speaking communities, children, and parents. We are very grateful and very happy.
Preschool education is the foundation of the lifelong learning and development of every child. Access to quality early childhood education services not only gives children better chances to succeed in school but also contributes to better learning outcomes in the future.
Over eighty-four percent of young children aged 3 to 6 years old in Tajikistan do not receive basic services of early childhood education, particularly in rural and remote areas due to insufficient public resource allocations, demographic dynamics with intensive population growth, reliance on external funding, and unaffordability of parents to cover fees.
To address these challenges, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan, UNICEF, USAID, and the Open Society Institute in Tajikistan joined forces to provide young children of pre-school age with various developmental materials, including media packages and animated series, digital learning platforms, and educational books.
Currently, UNICEF in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan is working on developing the “Magic Box” digital educational platform. The platform will have a set of high-quality educational materials and high-quality content to help parents and educators of Early Childhood Education engage children in various educational and creative activities and games. This platform will also help educators to build their own capacity for professional growth and development in the area of early childhood education.
Parents can obtain more information on the development of young children – from birth to 6 years old through games, activities, guidelines, and advice on various topics, including methods for supporting children with disabilities.
Speaking about the occasion, Mr. Osama Makkawi, Representative for the UNICEF Tajikistan said: “With Tajikistan marking 30th anniversary of independence, we see the new generation of Tajik citizens growing up, who in a short time will be a future leader, teachers, doctors, scientists, lawyers, environmentalists. Tajikistan’s greatest asset is human capital and it can only be strengthened through investments in education. And education starts from an early age. We hope through this joint initiative we will facilitate their curiosity, their thirst for knowledge and education.”
Tajikistan’s greatest asset is human capital and it can only be strengthened through investments in education. And education starts from an early age.
