KEY ISSUES IN ECCE

Item

Title: KEY ISSUES IN ECCE
extracted text: SDA-RF-CH-1B.6

Importanl I hrorrlical l'i»tubtiuns
•I irsl

KEY ISSUES IN ECCE

scar-* arc critical lor life long, optimal dcxclopmcnt

•< Inld development is a lotilinuous A cumulative process so that
what precedes iiillucnces what follows
•llcalth.nufrilioti A: psxvho-serial doclop arc sxncrgi>tically
interrelated
•Ikxclop is optimized if programme addresses child's ecological
context

Scientific Facts

EXISTING POLICIES & PROGRAMMES
A CRITIQUE

Brain Rcitcurdi
•Critical period for the formation of s)Tuiptic connections in the brain
If a stimulating physical & psycho-social environment is not available
in early years,the chances ofbrain developing to its full potential arc
reduced & often irreversible
Empirical Finding;
•Nutritional status and cognitive development arc related
•Exposure to pre- school improves enrollment, retention & performance in
primary school.
• Girls whose siblings go to pre-school are free to go to school.

Policies
Despite the critical importance of earty ct:hildhood a vast majority of
518 million children(0to6) still remain deftpnved of ECCD services

o "G

.

The Tenth Plan does not focus on ECCD.lt only recommended
universallsation of ICDS programme
The 86m Constitutional Amendment doesnot include ECCD as a
fundamental right of children
'

Vo— > f

t

The NPA(2OO5)spells out concrete goals Strategies for
ECCD within a Rights perspective
,

r- ioV. h

CHALLENGES
Policy(conL)

•

The ECCE has been nationally recognized as the first step in the
ladder of education & a main contributor in achieving the goals of
UEE but it is is not recognized as a pail of mainstream education

■The main challenge lies in translating the commitments in tangible
outcome based indicators
■In view of large scale expansions quality of programmes needs to
be maintained
■Some marginalized groups like children of migrant & labourer
families, nomadic tribes, children with special needs, etc are
left out
"The urban poprare not adequately' covered by ICDS as only 8

percent of ICDS projects are located in urban areas

1

Ihtic »C VW twelve uvre vnakirtg a emeu m the evuntty a itujwit' »»(
Ihcni in the ui»<>«fc*r»rtd u-vtor ncctbng da; carv ciccho for their children

IMPLEMENTATION
. The cwrrjye fcoutnwch oT ECCD prognMnincs m private sector ts not
known

• u. mans cjscschiMtcn of these wwtong women arc Ukcn tJtc ot by older gwl
who has l«> m»w txil <*>i her o»n cducjlh’it

• the eMUtnjt *itvho (ihi Ii Ik iwlii) ire cjlctiiig U’ mmiw I SMKtoO vhikhcri
j •mi* iM) ihu> there

huge g4|' between 'he need .% 4* ailabiht) i»f 'cnicc*

■ In view of mushroomtnq growth of nursery schools there
t$ an urgent need for a regulatory rnechdnrjn

. The crecnw A daycare centers are catering to children in 0 to 5 yrs
age group but they provide )tr>t_cur.todiai care, infra- structure is
poor .stimulation Acducauonal acirv-ttos are almost non existent
. The workforce of ECCE programmes
inadequatety patd & has tow status

I

is often poorly trained.

I he access to good quality ECCE services should be a
fundamental right ot the child

2.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The existing ECCD programmes like creches, balwadis, pre
primary centres etc are giving services in a fragmented
manner. 11 should be mandatory for all ECCD programmes
to give a holistic package of services including health care,
nutrition, stimulation (0 to 3 yrs) & non formal education^
to (> yrs)

3. The ICDS is the biggest programme of ECCD in the country
it should be redesigned lo have a flexible & efficient
delivery system.

Capacity Building
Some specific recommendations for ICDS are;
•

Pre school component should be strengthened to incAidc school readiness skills &

•

•The remuneration & working conditions of ECCE workers need to be reviewed and

Concrete Ameasurable outcome indicators to asses the efficacy of pre school education

rationalized

Access of programme to the marginalized groups should be ensured by evolving special
Package of services for them

•

should be evolved

smooth transition to primary school

should be developed
■

•A large number of manpower is implementing ECCD programmes A long term
strategy for capacity building of pre school teachers. AWWs .creche worker, etc

Policy guidelines should be provided to ensure inclusion of children with special needs in
Angnnwadis /creche

•

The infrastructureof anganwadis should be improved by providing loilets-drinking water
Proper buildings .play material, teaching material, etc & making them child friendly

•

The image of anganwadisshould change from feedingccnfreno^joyfuljemning

Regulatory Mechanism
- A large number of nursery schools & day car e centers are being run on commercial
basis Their numbers & quality is not known. Many are located m small places with
Hide or no
facilities burdening children with formal curriculum not suited for pre
school child
•There is a need lo evolve norms'minimum standards for all ECCE centers &
institute a regulator)- svstein for ECCE centres

centers"

•J
c ,hca

2

Achucac)
•l>uc to the pressure from parents often AWW or nursery
school tcacltcr are prcssuivcd to teach English A follow a
school like curriculum which is stressful for young
child.Adsucacy to create awareness about the
need for
dcselopmentalls appropriate pre school education will help in
improving quality of pre schools

»

THANK YOU

Involvcmcnl of Community
■ For effective supervision & monitoring of ECCE centres the
local level institutions like Gram Panchayat.self help groups of
women, motlters commilices.ctc need to be involved. Capacity
building of these groups will go a long way in effective
community monitoring

*

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Media: SDA-RF-CH-1B.6.pdf

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