Early childhood education

Dr Arup Jyoti Kalita

(The writer can be reached at arupjyotikalita@gmail.com)

Who as parents would not like to admit their child to a good early childhood centre for creative and holistic development? Early childhood as we know is defined as the period from birth to eight years of age, a period of rapid development of the brain, and the years in which lifelong development of the child is rooted. At this critical stage of development, early childhood education centres have a major role to play. Early childhood education begins with encouraging the child to go to school, explore its surroundings, and enjoy playful activities through social interactions. Speaking, reading, listening, interaction and playing with peers have a lot of contribution to make in the development process. So, these early childhood centres are not just a space for children to be taken care of but also a centre where children should get the opportunity to engage in all kinds of activities that help them to get their foundation strong, a space wherein a child is helped in all aspects. Therefore, these centres must be adequate with teaching-learning materials, infrastructure, hygienic and have a children-friendly environment, especially government-run facilities.

How do we expect these centres to be in the current time scenario? We expect these centres to be well equipped with infrastructure, much enhanced with child-centric curriculum and more adequate with water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. But surprisingly, it seems we are yet to be at these expected outcomes at most of the public early childhood education centres. The state early childhood education centre- the Anganwadi centres has a very poor picture from its infrastructure to its implementation of child-centric curriculum! Most of the Anganwadi centres are poorly resourced. Because of such poor condition of these centres our children not only lacks in early education but it creates a roadblock in the development process of the children at this crucial stage. Many parents express undesirability to get their child admitted to these government run facilities. It has been found that public preschool system apparently fails to give children an enabling properly designed environment and strong foundation. Many times, parents chose private institutions over these early childhood education centres or get their child admitted early to the nearest Government primary school. And these children, later on, find difficulty in coping up with the age appropriate learning levels, and these sometimes result in dropouts and poor cognitive skills. Some study that has been conducted in the state to understand the ongoing scenario at these centres also reflects a similar kind of findings.

Now, the questions arises here, is when are these public preschool centers going to be strengthened? How should the parents gain back faith in this existing public system and how should the privileged section don't opt for private centers? Or this lacking public system will only prevail to sustain the underprivileged?

After 34 long years, the National Policy of education has been changed and is welcomed with a new policy with more emphasis on a holistic, learner-centered, and flexible education system. The new National Education Policy 2020 has given the highest priority of building a strong foundation in early childhood. The policy states that the overall aim of early childhood care education will be to attain optimal outcomes in the domains of physical and motor development, cognitive development, socio-emotional-ethical development, cultural/artistic development, and the development of communication and early language, literacy, and numeracy. It also states that "the overarching goal will be to ensure universal access to high-quality early childhood care and education across the country in a phased manner. Special attention and priority will be given to districts and locations that are particularly socio-economically disadvantaged. There have the reflection for universal access to early childhood care and education in the new national education policy, Anganwadi Centres will be strengthened with high-quality infrastructure, play equipment, and well trained Anganwadi workers/teachers. Every Anganwadi will have a well-ventilated, well designed, child-friendly, and well-constructed building with an enriched learning environment. Funds to achieve these aims will be provided by both the Central and State governments.

Along with the responsibility of the government, we as parents, individuals, and participants of civil society also have to put our efforts and act as responsible individuals in uplifting our communities, Anganwadi centres and government primary schools. Likewise, when we come together in constructing public religious spaces, community spaces, we also have to take into consideration the Anganwadi centres as our priority. We have to discuss and understand at a holistic level about early childhood; how a child perceives and navigates the world since its birth and the gradual cognitive development of the child thereafter. This critical and pertinent stage of the development of children needs careful assessment in the area. Therefore, we as concerned citizenry, parents, Non-Government Organizations, corporates, policy makers must join hands to bring out the desired changes in this area. As we orient ourselves to prioritize early childhood education, we ensure every child's fundamental right to education right from the formative years. Albeit there have been some remarkable reforms happening at the public primary and secondary sector in our state, we are yet to zoom in our focus to the early childhood education scenerio, development of its infrastructure and intervention. Only after covering education right from childhood developmental years, education in true sense can be fulfilled, otherwise it will obstruct the child from realizing her full potential by the time she becomes an adult. Initiating children to early education will also give impetus to hike in enrollment and zest to public education. As children are not only the assets of parents but also of the country's resource. So for the betterment of our future generations, it is our responsibility to stand together and make our public education system adequate for each child!