Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, access to early learning opportunities for children 4 to 6 years in the Kyrgyz Republic plummeted.
By 2006, only 6 percent of eligible children were enrolled in kindergarten nationwide. While primary school enrolment remained high, student achievement in early and higher grades stagnated due to under-investment.
Since 2005, the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP) has sought to address these challenges through innovative early childhood programmes, in partnership with local communities and government authorities.
This brief provides an overview of MSDSP’s early childhood programmes, and a summary of the findings and recommendations of a 2013 study, which sought to assess the impact of these interventions on children’s reading abilities.
The findings showed that children who had attended kindergarten and participated in the Reading for Children programme demonstrated the highest reading achievement.
