UNESCO has chosen Sharjah for a big responsibility. Sharjah has now become the first Arab city where a pilot project of the ‘Early Childhood Care and Education’ (ECCE-PATT) tool will be launched. The main objective of this initiative is to examine and improve the level of education and care of young children. This announcement was made on 8 February 2026, which has further strengthened Sharjah’s identity in the field of education.
What is this new project and its objective?
The full name of this tool is ECCE-PATT, which has been prepared by UNESCO. Its function is to record the achievements of children in the field of Early Childhood Education. This tool is a kind of self-assessment system that will find out what the education policies are like and what is the quality of the facilities provided to the children.
Through this the shortcomings present in the system will be identified. The results from the use of this tool will be used to develop improvement plans for nurseries and early learning centers in Sharjah. The aim is to create a model that can then be implemented across the region.
Which institutions and departments are involved in this?
Many big departments of Sharjah are working together to make this project successful. In this, Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) and Sharjah Education Academy (SEA) are playing the lead roles. Additionally, Sharjah Child Friendly Office (SCFO) and the Supreme Council for Family Affairs are also part of the initiative.
This entire project is being run under the instructions of Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah. A special meeting will be held during the ‘Sharjah International Summit’ on 14 and 15 February 2026. In this ‘Closed Policy Dialogue’, officials and experts will discuss the initial results of this project.
