Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) made another academic achievement by inaugurating Prof. Dr. Puji Yanti Fauziah, S.Pd., M.Pd. as a Professor in the field of Nonformal Early Childhood Education (PAUD) recently. The inauguration ceremony took place in the Main Conference Room of UNY and was attended by various academic figures, the university's extended family, and invited guests.
In her inaugural speech, Prof. Dr. Puji Yanti Fauziah, S.Pd., M.Pd. underlined the importance of community-based non-formal education in forming creative Human Resources (HR). According to her, the challenges of the 21st century require children who are not only academically smart, but also able to think creatively, work in teams, and have good digital literacy skills. “The rapid development of the digital world requires us to prepare children from an early age to be able to face various global challenges,” he said. She conveyed the importance of the golden age (0-8 years), where the physical, brain, and mental growth of children develops rapidly so that in this phase the fulfillment of nutrition, stimulation, and childcare in a child-friendly environment both in the family, educational institutions and society becomes very important.
Prof. Dr. Puji Yanti Fauziah, S.Pd., M.Pd also emphasized that community-based non-formal PAUD provides space for children to learn by utilizing the potential of the surrounding nature as a learning medium. “Education does not always have to be done in the classroom. Nature and the surrounding environment can be an effective source of learning, especially to foster children's creativity and skills from an early age,” she added.
Recommendations presented by Prof. Dr. Puji Yanti Fauziah, S.Pd., M.Pd. in her speech included the development of a “One Village One PAUD” program that utilizes nature as the main learning medium. In addition, she also encouraged active participation from families and communities in supporting non-formal PAUD institutions. She added that community involvement is very important in improving the quality of education, especially at the PAUD level which is the initial foundation of children's character building.
With this inauguration, Prof. Dr. Puji Yanti Fauziah, S.Pd., M.Pd. hopes to continue to contribute to improving the quality of early childhood education in Indonesia, especially through non-formal approaches based on active community participation and utilization of local potential.
