Ensuring access, equity and quality in early childhood education in Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar: Challenges for nations in a populous economic corridor

Abstract

UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.2 specifies that countries need to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary school education. This paper considers where Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar stand in terms SDG Target Indicator 4.2.2. National data sets were used to assess equitable access to early childhood education and policy documents were analysed to determine how countries address the quality dimension. Overall, findings indicate (i) large variations in access to early childhood education among Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar; (ii) variations in access based on family wealth; (iii) the need to enhance the quality of the data collected to measure access to early childhood education and monitor progress towards Sustainable Developmental Goal Target Indicator 4.2.2; (iv) a lack of attention to the measurement of the quality of early childhood education; and (iv) the need to address policy-implementation gaps in all four countries.