Prasad, Indu
(2014)
The importance of early childhood education.
Learning Curve (22).
pp. 2-6.
Abstract
The only unregulated area in education in India at
this point is Early Childhood Education. There are a
number of rules for school education, now even a
law for universal school education, numerous
legislations, policy structures and frameworks.
However, there really isn’t anything like this for early
childhood education. We do have a government
pre-school system through the Anganwadis in rural
areas. But there is absolutely zero regulation in the
private space. So I can decide to start a pre-school in
my home today and no one will ask me any
questions - what curriculum/board is to be
followed, children of what age are to be admitted, is
it legal to take in children when they are 18 months
old or should they be taken in only at 3 years,
minimum safety standards to be followed, training
that one is to have undergone, etc. So it is an
absolutely ‘free-for-all’ space. Therefore, there is a
huge mushrooming of all kinds of private centres for
early childhood care and education, especially in
the urban space – day-care centres, crèches, preschools.
There are no rules for setting up and
running any of these. Therefore, there is a huge area
of concern here, because it has an impact on safety
of children, their learning, their growth and their
development. The early childhood years are one of
the most critical in a child’s development.
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