National Conference on Alternative Pre-School Models of Education The time from birth to primary school is a vital time in a childs

development and forms a strong link in the overall national education system. There is also strong evidence that investing in early education can yield increased benefits for both the social and academic development of the child, and that these benefits have long-lasting impact. As part of the EU-funded project Social Rights Development: community-based strategies to include vulnerable and isolated children to preschool education, UAFA and CIE held a National Conference on Alternative Pre-school Models of Education on Monday 6th May 2013. The aim of this project is to improve early childhood development outcomes for children who are excluded from pre-school due to poverty, location and disability. At the same time, the project is designed to strengthen the partnership between civil society and the State at the community level and be a starting point for replication of community initiatives in social services. A Look at the Data The 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) reports that 64% of Azerbaijani fourth grade children did not attend pre-school, by far the highest percentage of children left out of preprimary education among the 45 countries included in the study.

Preprimary Education Attendence , PIRLS 2011

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 more than 1-3 years less than no 3 years 1 year preschool Available: http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2011/international-results-pirls.html (chapter 4)

Azerbaijan PIRLS Average

According to World Bank statistics, Azerbaijans gross preprimary enrollment is 27%, approximately half that of developing countries in the same region. However, it seems that low pre-school enrollment is a regional problem, especially in Central Asia.

Gross preprimary enrollment (WB 2011)

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percentage of children of preschool age attending preschool "Like countries" (Central Asia, Caucasus, Turkey, Iran*) Europe & Central Asia (developing countries) (ECA) Upper Middle Income Countries Europe & Central Asia (ECS)

*All data is from 2011 except the Like countries category which uses the latest available data from each country (2011 for all countries except 2012 for Kazakhstan, 2008 for Georgia, 2010 for Turkey, and Turkmenistan is not included because offers no data) Available: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRE.ENRR/countries?display=default

Finally, data from Azerbaijans State Statistics Committee demonstrates that the number of preprimary institutions has decreased from over 2000 to around 1600 from 1991 to 2012. The number of children attending preschool fell sharply from 1991 to 2000, and has risen very slightly in the last decade on the strength of increasing enrollment in urban areas.

Preschool Enrollment and Accessibility (Azerbaijan)

2,500 2,000 1,500 100,000 1,000 500 0 1991 2000 2012 50,000 0 Children Attending Preprimary Education 200,000

150,000

Preprimary Institutions

However, only eight percent of children between the ages of one and five attend preprimary education in rural areas and the total number of rural preprimary institutions has fallen to 725 across Azerbaijan. New preschool models are needed if Azerbaijan wants to fill this huge gap in its education system. The goal of this conference was to present a community-based model of preschool services that has potential to reach children currently without access to education services, and at a much lower expense.