Conclusions & Recommendations

The following conclusions can be drawn from this research:

• In general, institutionally-driven PAUD (be it World Bank, CSR, or Child Fund in this research) are bound by targets, and have limited, specifi c coverage as well as time limits. This in turn means a shorter, more focused establishment process for the PAUD institution. While trying to reach the maximum number target in the minimum time, consideration must be given to the quality of the process in the preparation of a PAUD establishment.

• On the contrary, community-driven PAUD (be it Taman Posyandu or PAUD Mandiri) are not bound by any targets, and therefore development can occur more slowly. However, this model can be sustained with minimal external input, and is self-replicating. As the PAUD institution grows and the local community sees the benefi t, more people are interested in establishing new ones. Some external support could benefi t this model in terms of increasing quality and coverage, as well as accelerating the replication process in other communities. Unfortunately, the fi ndings from the fi eld

Chapter 4 A Study of Community driven vs Institutionally driven ECD Development Models

showed that these PAUD are not taken into account, particularly by the government. As shown in World Bank PAUD, fi nancing is only given for the purpose of establishing new PAUD, while existing PAUD, despite needing support for improvement, do not qualify for support. This in turn caused a

“negative perception” among the tutors and managers of an existing PAUD, which was established based on concrete local needs, and to some extent confl icts also occurred.

• While ensuring the coverage target and quality, the sustainability issue should be also taken into account. This is lacking in the World Bank PAUD model, in which most PAUD are highly dependent on the continuation of external support/funding. When the government’s budget alone cannot ensure such support, a proper exit strategy or an integration of economic development model might be needed to address this issue. During consultation on a draft version of this report, useful discussions with the World Bank team revealed their approach to this issue, and several contextual factors which aff ected outcomes- including specifi cally providing three year support for a six year program in order that communities become more involved, and diffi culties ensuring commitments made by outgoing local political fi gures were maintained by incoming individuals.

• Incentives for tutors can threaten the sustainability of the program if it is implemented as a means of “buying” tutors’ qualifi cation rather than ”rewarding” a tutor’s dedication. Lessons learned from the village midwife program showed how most academically qualifi ed village midwives tend to leave the job at the end of their contract period to seek new opportunities with better wages in the city. Such is also the case with academically qualifi ed tutors in the PAUD program.

• It is nevertheless important to support building the capacity of existing tutors in order to increase the credibility of PAUD among the community. While basic education is necessary (high school degree) for these tutors to pursue, there should be a reconsideration of the eff ectiveness of further schooling – particularly whether an S1 degree is more appropriate in comparison with other options, such as diploma or vocational school equivalent to a high school degree or short course.

• In terms of tutor’s training, communication techniques, training method, and duration have to be formulated based on participants’ background and capacity to absorb the materials. Intensive training with a one way classical method only resulted in low levels of participants’ perception and comprehension. To ensure retention of tutors’ knowledge, principles of adult learning methods:

appreciative, participative, interactive using a range of media are necessary. Role play and micro teaching are among the methods that can help tutors put their knowledge into practice.

• The role of HIMPAUDI, as an extension of the Ministry of Education in relation to tutors’ capacity building, has yet to be improved to bring more benefi t for the tutors. HIMPAUDI is a long way from meeting tutors’ expectations of a professional association, despite the fees being charged for membership and training.

• In terms of integration of health in PAUD HI, attachment to an existing health service (particularly Posyandu) is most benefi cial to ensure minimum cost of the integration of health service into PAUD.

This is apparent in the Taman Posyandu model. Nevertheless, the model needs improvement by including services for children with special needs, and other vulnerable groups.

• In terms of integration of the basic legal rights of children in PAUD HI, PAUD has the potential role to build awareness among parents and facilitate the process of obtaining a birth certifi cate, as shown by tutors of some PAUD in this research. However, advocacy should be directed to civil registration, in order to provide clear information about the process. Also awareness on this issue should be raised among community fi gures in order to address constraints related to marriage certifi cates and local customs.

• In terms of coordination, so far there is no clear mechanism for inter-sector coordination at village levels in the case of reporting, monitoring and evaluation. Thus, the village leader has a potential

88 Education Sector Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership

Chapter 4 A Study of Community driven vs Institutionally driven ECD Development Models

role to play, as has been shown in some areas where the village leader is committed to PAUD development.

• The regulation on operational permits and graduation certifi cates for PAUD pupils is considered a burden by most tutors, particularly tutors at Taman Posyandu and PAUD Mandiri, as one of the requirement is a legal certifi cate (notary act) of foundation establishment. This is made worse by the practice of some personnel of authority who took advantage of the opportunity for personal interest.

• Parents play a crucial role in determining children’s enrolment in PAUD. In general, most parents are aware of the importance and satisfi ed with PAUD services. However, there’s a strong perception which identifi es PAUD as school readiness preparation (i.e. reading-writing-counting skills) rather than holistic child development. Parents’ awareness of the benefi ts of PAUD doesn’t always correlate with their willingness to pay, particularly when they know that PAUD has received some sort of external support. Extra eff ort in communication should be made in such PAUDs, in collaboration with community fi gures and village offi cials, to demonstrate transparency in their use of resources.

This will in turn build trust, which will be critical in developing community involvement in sustaining PAUD, when external input alone cannot suffi ce or when funding period has come to an end.

In conclusion, some strategic recommendations that can be proposed for the development of HI ECD:

• PAUD Integration with Posyandu: To optimise the integration of health service into PAUD, Posyandu has a number of advantages over other health facilities. Its service (health and nutrition) and target benefi ciaries (mothers in general, pregnant mothers, breastfeeding mothers, infants, and young children) will ensure a continuum of care of children from -1 (pregnancy period) to 6 years old.

Posyandu is also widely distributed across Indonesia, and already well known, particularly in rural areas. Furthermore, introducing PAUD to Posyandu will bring the advantage of an improved health infrastructure and benefi ciary target. PAUD can be used to revitalise the currently inactive Posyandu, as parents and children visit PAUD at regular intervals.

• Local mothers and women as teachers/tutors: As shown in the fi ndings, tutors’ academic levels do not always correlate with the quality of their teaching. High academic qualifi cation standards correlate positively with high turnover of tutors, due to the tendency of tutors with advanced academic qualifi cations to search for better job opportunities. “Ordinary” mothers, or women in general are proven to be capable of delivering quality PAUD service, provided they have experience in handling children and are enhanced by proper training. Women are indispensable and can be considered as an untapped human resource available in all areas. Giving housewives the chance to become tutors and providing them with scholarships as an acknowledgement as well as academic capacity building exercise might be a more feasible option for PAUD HI development. Such an approach has been implemented in Rajasthan (India) through Aga Khan Foundation, and it was demonstrated that housewives as teachers are powerful agents of change for early childhood development and education (Arnec newsletter, Early Childhood in Asia and The Pacifi c No.1. 2008).

• ECD Resource Centers: Considering the large number of children under fi ve years of age in Indonesia (approximately 24 million), it is impossible for the government alone to provide ECD services covering all these children. ECD resource centers would serve the roles of capacity building, supervision, monitoring, and evaluation for PAUD HI development. ECD resource centers could also function as co-ordinating bodies which promote partnership, transparency, and openness in facilitating ideas, implementation, research, and dissemination of best practices among government, private sector, academics, and citizen sectors at all levels (local, national, and international), including communities at local, district, provincial, or national level. This model has been demonstrated by the Institute of Educational Development (IED), BRAC University Dhaka, Bangladesh (Arnec newsletter, Early Childhood in Asia and The Pacifi c No.1. 2008)

Chapter 4 A Study of Community driven vs Institutionally driven ECD Development Models

90 Education Sector Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership Chapter 5 Strategic Options

Chapter 5