SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

LAYING A FOUNDATION FOR LIFE:
PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL
Pre-primary education for children from age
three to the official primary school entry age
plays a critical role at a time when children’s
brains are rapidly developing. Children become
more independent and confident, and are likely
to perform better throughout the course of their
education and in employment. 7 A recent study by
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found that
in 58 out of 65 countries, 15-year-old students
who attended at least a year of pre-primary
school outperformed students who did not, even
after allowing for differences in socioeconomic
background. 8
Globally, pre-primary education has expanded
from 112 million children in 1999 to
184 million in 2013, equivalent to an increase
in the gross enrolment ratio from 33 percent to
54 percent (Table 3.1). Across Asia-Pacific, the
rate of progress has been uneven, with relatively
faster progress in East Asia and Oceania. While
the enrolment rate has more than doubled or
almost doubled in many countries, over half of
TABLE 3.1:
Progress on pre-primary education has been mixed
young children in about a third of the region’s
countries still do not receive pre-primary education
(Annex Table 16).
Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji and Timor-Leste
had pre-primary enrolment rates below 20 percent
in 2013. At the opposite end of the spectrum,
Viet Nam achieved an 81 percent share, while
Australia; Hong Kong, China (SAR); Papua
New Guinea and Thailand had attained 100
percent (Annex Table 16).
Rural-urban and other geographical disparities
are noticeable in many countries, since
governments generally have yet to assume sufficient
responsibility for pre-primary education.
The cost of private provision contributes in
large part to major disparities between the
richest and poorest children. In Indonesia, 99
percent of kindergartens are privately run, likely
accounting for huge variations in enrolment
rates across provinces. 9 Some middle-income
countries have lower participation than poor
countries—in 2013, the Islamic Republic of
Iran sent 42 percent of children to pre-primary
education, compared with 85 percent in Nepal, 10
suggesting a strong policy commitment and
state support in the latter.
Enrolment in
pre-primary school
varies regionally,
due to cost and
policy preferences
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2015.
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