Training TASKA Childminders Using their Smartphone – 24 Nov. 2018
John Arul Phillips PhD
Recently t
here was a public outcry about the rape and abuse of an 18 month old baby who finally succumbed to her injuries. It is just difficult to comprehend how such a violent act can be inflicted on a baby and it occurred in a TASKA (nursery) by the spouse of the caregiver.Such violence against young children has happened before in various nurseries which are supposed to be safe havens parents have entrusted their precious children to be cared and educated for while they are busy at work.
Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, stated that of the 18,873 caregivers in registered nurseries in the country, 80% or around 13,700 do not have the minimum qualification which is the Kursus Asuhan PERMATA (KAP). She further elaborated that as many as 38,333 nurseries are needed for 2.5 million children aged zero to 4 years. Unfortunately, only 11.22% or 4,302 nurseries are registered while the rest are operating illegally. Thus, thousands of young children are entrusted to childminders who are NOT TRAINED and OPERATE ILLEGALLY. Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister, YB Hannah Yeoh called on parents to be more vigilant when choosing a TASKA for their children and not to rely on social media.
Hence, it is incumbent on the Government to ensure that ALL the nurseries are registered and ALL childminders are trained. To ensure that all childminder to take the Kursus Asuhan Permata and to pass the assessment required by the Department for Social Welfare (JKM). Just because one is a mother or grandmother, does not necessarily imply that the person is competent to be a childminder.
Abundant research in early childhood in the last few decades has revealed that the first six years of a child’s life is the most important because many aspects of the child’s growth and development takes place during these formative years. Caring for a child from birth to 4 years cannot be left to guesswork and experience but preferably be based on findings of scientific research.
How does one go about making available such training for 13,700 childminders in the shortest time possible. Current approach is to get childminders to attend face-to-face sessions over a period of 23 weeks. It would be physically impossible to get all childminders to leave their work and attend face-to-face sessions which will have serious consequences to the industry. Even if batches of individuals attend these face-to-face sessions, it would take a long time to cover all 13,700 childminders. What is the solution? Mobile Learning or M-Learning for short.
It can be safely assumed that most childminders have a smartphone. Through M-Learning, childminders can be trained anywhere and anytime without having to leave their place of work except for the 5 day compulsory Practicum and the Test conducted by the Department of Social Welfare (JKM). Industry and business have widely adopted in training their workforce on the go which has proven to be effective in enhancing performance in the workplace.
Can we do the same to train the thousands of childminders? Yes we can. The Kursus Asuhan Permata (KAP) is made up of 10 units which can be repackaged and reversioned to be delivered via the smartphone. The content is enriched with video clips, quizzes and digital flash-cards which learners can access using their smartphone to enhance understanding of key concepts and principles. Using WhatsApp and Facebook, learners discuss with the online tutor and classmates on matters related to the 10 units.