Mother Tongue-Based Education Prepares Children for Primary School Success

Eighty teachers gained experience with mother tongue-based early childhood education through a seminar held in the Lanny Jaya District of Papua, Indonesia in early 2013. The Education Office of the South East Maluku District then developed a cooperation plan to expand this project. This experience represents one of several new collaborations between government and non-government organizations facilitated by the Yayasan Sulinama organization and its Mother Tongue-Based Early Childhood Education Program in Indonesia.

Various stakeholders, including churches, government representatives and early childhood education facilitators, have taken an interest in using Yayasan Sulinama’s teaching materials for instruction. Scores of teachers from kindergartens and playgroups were able to participate in the training. This year, 311 children will advance to primary school thanks to the project.

Local education officials have been amazed by the cognitive and reading ability of playgroup graduates who learned using the materials. With close to one hundred teachers trained at two additional sites earlier in the first quarter alone, and 26 preschools a part of the program, teacher training is an ongoing part of the process. SIL LEAD’s partner, Wycliffe Finland, has been working with the Sulinama Foundation in its efforts to prepare pre-school aged children for their primary education.