20th August 2007 An industry that has long been overlooked was given a praiseworthy celebration last Saturday as SEGi College organised a day of fun activities and professional development wokshops for early childhood professionals. The enjoyment of the day’s celebration was elevated with the arrival of the Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Y.B. Datuk G. Palanivel.

“I must congratulate SEGi College for coming up with this noble idea of appreciating early childhood carers,” said Palanivel. “I wish all the early childhood educators here today congratulations on a job well done on educating our children today as future leaders of tomorrow. Your contribution to society is vital as the early years of children shape their character and attitude for their future.”

“This is a profession that has far too long suffered a misconception that early childhood educators are merely babysitters to taking care of their children during the day. Society needs to rethink their thoughts on the role of early childhood education, as it is plays a key role in the future of our nation,” added Palanivel.

Early childhood educators are not only caregivers, but also educators seeing to the health needs, nutrition, emotional, physical and mental development of young children.

“What we need in this country is proper curriculum for early childhood education qualifications. The childcare providers or teachers in such early childhood centre need to have recognised qualification, as such to ensure our children are exposed to qualified care givers,” said Palanivel.

According to Palanivel, we should adapt the practices of the childcare industry of developed countries into our society. For example, in the UK, only qualified childcare professionals are allowed to care for children. There is no exception for those without proper qualification as entrusting young children into the care of someone falls down to how qualified that person is to see to the care and education of children.

“Qualified early childhood educators is now the ‘in’ thing for developing countries like Malaysia. As our society becomes more aware about the importance of qualified early childhood educators, there is a growing demand for such programmes to train the childcare providers and teachers,” explain Palanivel.

“SEGi’s programmes are approved and recognised, and they are one of the pioneer providers of early childhood education programmes,” he said.

Qualified early childhood educators are imperative for the good of the nation. As the foremost educator of children, they impact the character development of children, to grow them into good leaders of tomorrow.

“The responsibility of early childhood care does not only fall on parents and teachers. Companies also play a part in this, and it should be part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR is a big concern of all societies for a better future,” added Palanivel.

To explain further how companies can play a role in the CSR of early childhood education, Palanivel said that every company should provide childcare facilities for the parents working in their company with qualified childcare educators. Having childcare facilities in companies ensures strong family ties, and increase in productivity of the employees as there is a safe haven for their children at their workplace.

In light of the day’s event, Palanivel was on hand to hand out certificate of appreciation to the childcare centres and pre-school centres who participated in the Appreciation Day.

The Faculty of Education and Social Sciences of SEGi College first began honouring early childhood professionals in 2005, with structured events and full day activities tailored to the need and requirements of the participants.

The all day celebration will feature a series of talks which will cover a breadth of topics and activities that will re-energise and reaffirm the participants’ passion and dedication for the young.

The highlights of the celebration are special talks by renowned guest speakers among them Puspa Sivan, Dr Alvin Ng, Diana-Lea Baranovich, Alex Lee and Doreen Lye. Topics for this year include professionalism in early childhood care & education, handling behavioural issues, technology in the early years and effective thematic teaching.

The whole day tribute will not only feature a series of motivational talks, seminars and workshops, there will also be a special musical performance by SEGi, Diploma in Early Childhood Education students, Video Presentation, Fun and Games plus an exhibition of early childhood products.

SEGi’s FOESS have produced over a thousand graduates who are serving the children in our country. The College offers a full academic pathway in early childhood education from certificate through to diploma, degree and master's programme.

SEGi College is the largest private education provider in Malaysia. With a network of campuses in 5 major towns and cities in the country, the college has a total of 14,500 students. SEGi also own St Nicholas Montessori Centre for children aged 2½ to 6, located at Bandar Utama, Subang USJ, Klang, Malacca and Penang.

To find out more about the early childhood programmes, please call SEGi College Subang Jaya (03-86001888), email to infosj@segi.edu.my or log on to www.segi.edu.my