Sri Lanka, March 20 -- Benefits to children

The foundations of the brain's architecture are formed between the ages of 0-5 years. We now know that 80 percent of the brain's structure takes shape during the first three years of life, and 90 percent of the brain's structure is formed by the age of 5 (UNICEF 2015). We also know that experiences - both positive and negative - in these early years of childhood affect the development of brain architecture in a way that later experiences do not.

Early years education is distinctly different to formal education: the emphasis is on play-based learning, with nurturing caregivers, in developmentally rich contexts. The early years are a vital period for language acquisition, laying the foundatio...