🌍 Nursery rhymes

Happy Tuesday! Today marks the 15th anniversary of the passing of Pop legend and icon, Micheal Joseph Jackson. Because this piece isn’t sponsored by either Spotify or Apple Music, we’re unable to attach a link to our favorite MJ playlist. However, we’re hooking you up with the silkiest white stockings on the market…we heard moonwalks are easier with them.

— Chibuike Uzor, Tayo Davies

Nursery education might be a bigger deal than we all thought

The word “free education” more commonly evokes everything from free primary education to subsidized varsity education for the average African. However, there’s a new competitor for education budgets across the continent: Nursery education.

The trend is growing increasingly popular among African countries as more than half of them commit sizeable chunks of their budget each to enroll more infants into Nursery school for free.

Gabon tops the list with free and mandatory nursery education for 3 years. Followed closely by Ghana and Benin Republic who offer free and mandatory nursery education for 2 years. Madagascar & Sierra Leone both offer at least one year of free nursery education for all kids.

Why the rave in the first place? Well, studies have shown that alongside breastfeeding, the most important health intervention for children was a 2 to 3-year stint reading out colors and napping. It’s been shown to boost their educational attainment, health, and employment prospects, especially with brain development at its highest in early childhood.

But hey, it’s a money issue too. According to the World Bank, widespread nursery education boosts tax revenues and GDP by (and you guessed it) allowing mothers to return to work sooner, reducing public spending on medical care, and reducing rates of child marriage and teenage pregnancies.

If you’re feeling left behind, Sierra Leone has got you covered. 

Along with Luxembourg and the Dominican Republic, Sierra Leone is proposing a new international treaty to guarantee at least one year of free nursery and secondary education for all children globally. The hearing starts in Geneva today, and the UN will decide next month whether the treaty is passed or not. -CU.