NEP 2020 spurs intensive establishment of kindergartens to ensure quality education for all children

Early childhood is a formative period of development. NEP 2020 describes early child care and education as the foundation for social, educational, and emotional stability through learning skills. Because of the way we are able to develop the brain of a child at the same pace and proportion, development is possible, and a strong foundation of skills and positive behaviour changes can be ushered from a tender age. Their impressions and influences determine the cognitive, conative, and affective domains of a child’s personality.
NEP 2020 targets the availability of quality ECCE to socially and economically disadvantaged sections. The Government of India and state governments are the main agencies ensuring ECCE by making provisions for human resources, infrastructure, and materials to be taught in ECCE centres. The paradigm change, which was enunciated after the adoption of NEP, is that the government has been intensively establishing kindergartens adjacent to primary schools, which provides a strong base for the educational edifice of the country and states. ECCE provision in government-run schools is a catalyst because enrollment is increasing, the dropout rate is reducing, and the quality of education is rapidly increasing. It is established that universal provision of quality early child care and education must be achieved as soon as possible by 2030 to ensure all students are ready for Grade I after ECCE.
The early child care education and learning process, policy, and practices consist of flexible, multifaceted, play-based, activity-based, and inquiry-based learning, which focus on learning alphabets. The curriculum also includes language skills, number concepts, colour perception, counting skills, and figuring out shapes and pictures, etc. Indoor and outdoor games are formidable as these toddlers remain much engrossed with play and fun. The main aim of ECCE is to attain optimal outcomes in physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Communication skill is a key factor for the early acquisition of language, literacy, and numeracy know-how.
The essence of early childhood care and education is the holistic development of the child so as to prepare the child for school and social conventions. Kindergarten schools shape congenial environments that foster wholesome emotional well-being; consequently, children feel safe and secure, and here, their self-esteem and emotional resilience are honed out and bolstered. The teachers must be proficient and trained in ECCE courses to become caregivers. Kindergarten schools provide opportunities for children to socialise, which fosters a sense of interaction, communication, and other skills; hence, the foundation for a brighter future is laid. The educators of the ECCE have quite different roles than other teachers in the formal system because they are supposed to possess specialized teaching skills and training in various courses.
The Government has been establishing 2000 new kindergarten classes across JK UT, and sanctions have been given to selected schools where these are coming up. This will certainly give these schools an edge over other schools because parents have been seriously pursuing these schools where Kindergarten classes are operational. These schools will become smart schools with the optimum required facilities, infrastructure, and human resources. These KG classes will give a flip to their enrollment. In this regard, the teachers are being trained to serve the purpose of ECCE. Due to a lack of crèche centres in rural areas, these kindergartens will attract parents because ECCE in private schools is not affordable for most parents. In view of this situation, the government has already appointed female helpers for these schools to assure support and additional services to children. These Kindergarten schools have a profound impact on the educational landscape due to their effective outcomes because they lay a sound foundation in children for various life skills like foundational numeracy and literacy. The NEP 2020 made it compulsory for three years at the pre-primary stage. The kindergarten schools will ensure dietary supplements to children to help them maintain growth and development. The allied department ICDS and health department also contribute to the health and hygiene of pre-primary children in the kindergartens, which is also among its objectives.
The national curricular and pedagogical framework for early childhood and care, in its sub-frame for 0-3-year-old children, emphasised the physical, social, and emotional inclination of children. The curriculum framework was envisioned to introduce the best techniques to address the holistic development of pre-primary children. The ECCE curriculum is rich in local traditions and so prioritises the mother tongue and other languages. The guidebooks of ECCE are based on health and hygiene, art, stories, poetry, work experience, games, etc., to make the learning material an interesting and enthusiastic premise. ECCE cultivates good habits and broadens the mental horizon of children in this way, helping parents in harmonious attitude development. It is at the stage where critical thinking thrives and a passion for learning is developed. The child is motivated to explore the world and the environment; the child learns inquisitiveness and innovative ways of problem-solving. Sound ECCE fosters the spirit of resilience, grit, and determination, which later on help the child achieve success. Healthy habits such as exercise, nutritious eating, and mental well-being are catapulted into their strong foundation.
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Dr Imtiyaz Rasool Ganai