APPENDIX D(B)-- REPORT OF THE INDIAN COMMITTEE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The Central Advisory Board of Education at the 19th meeting held in March, 1952 at New Delhi recommended the formation of an Indian National Committee on Early Childhood Education as a sub-committee of the Board. The Committee was accordingly set up with the following personnel:
1. Smt. Hannah Sen, Honorary General Secretary, Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi.
2. Mrs. Zarina Currimbhoy, Bombay.
3. Mrs. Hansa Mehta, Baroda.
4. Miss A. Rustomji, Bombay.
5. Shri Shewak Bhojraj, Secretary, Balkan-ji-Bari, Bombay.
6. Mrs. Shiva Rao, Delhi.
7. Mrs. Tarulata Das Gupta, Secretary, Nari Siksha Samiti, Calcutta.
8. Mrs. Rajan Nehru, New Delhi.
9. Mrs. P. Jayakar, Bombay.
10. Mrs. Krishna Hutheesing, Bombay.
The Committee held its first meeting in Hew Delhi in April, 1953 and the proceedings of the meeting are attached for consideration by the Board.
(Annexure).
The Proceedings have been circulated to all State Governments with a request to consider appropriate action on the recommendations with which they are concerned. The Community Projects Administration have also been furnished a copy with the suggestion that the resolution at par. V may be brought to the notice of the Development Commissioners. The resolution at Para. VIII has been communicated to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting with the request that the Director-General , A.I.R., may be advised to consider suitable action. Work on the several brochures included in para. VII is being pursued.
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON EARLY
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION A meeting of the National Committee on Early Childhood Education was held on the 28th April, at 11 A.M, in Room No. 52 and on the 29th April, 1953, at 9-30 A.M. in H.M.'s Room. The following members were present:
1. Miss A. Rustomji (Chairman).
2. Mrs. Zarina Currimbhoy.
3. Mrs. Rajan Nehru.
4. Mr. Shewak Bhojraj.
5. Mrs. Shiva Rao.
6. Dr. Mrs. Jyotsna H. Shah in place of Mrs. Hannah
Sen.
7. Mrs. Tarulata Das Gupta.
8. Mr. K. G. Saiyidain.
9. Dr. R. K. Bhan. Ministry of Education.
10. Mr. H. R. Bhatia.
The following members were unable to attend:
1. Mrs. Hansa Mehta.
2. Mrs. Krishna Hutheesing, and
3. Mrs. P. Jayakar.
Mr. Saiyidain welcoming the members of the Committee said that; early childhood education has been generally neglected because other problems were considered more urgent. He remarked that a Committee like this could help to focus the attention of the Central and the State Governments on this important aspect of education. The problem was not merely one of funds, but also of pooling together technical knowledge and assistance, of spreading knowledge about organizations and individuals working in this field and helping them, and coordinating their work. This Committee could help to stimulate, promote and coordinate work in the field of early childhood education.
Miss A. Rustomji was elected Chairman of the meeting.
1. Before taking up items arising out of the working paper, the Chairman read out to the members the letter received from the O.M.E.P., World Organization for Early Childhood Education, wherein some basic conditions for the affiliation of Indian National Committee on Early Childhood Education to the O.M.E.P. had been laid down. The letter was considered in detail and it was resolved:
(i) that all communications from O,M.E.P. should be addressed directly to the National Committee on Early Childhood Education; that every affiliation to O.M.E.P. and representation of this country on it must necessarily go
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through the National Committee; that whoever is elected or coopted a member of the Executive Committee should be responsible to the National Committee;
(ii) that the Committee regrets it cannot accept the condition imposed by the O.M.E.P. that the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India be accepted as a member of the Indian National Committee;
(iii) that the matter of affiliation to the world organization be kept pending till fuller reports are received from that body concerning their programme and activities, their budget and financial position, and details of contributions assessed for other countries; and
(iv) that O.M.E.P. may be addressed in terms of the three resolutions above and that Mr. Saiyidain may write an official note to the General Secretary of the O.M.E.P. and obtain fuller information about the organization.
II. On a point raised by Mrs. Shiva Rao, the position of the National Committee vis-a-vis the World Organization for Early Childhood Education was- discussed at length and it was agreed that, for purposes of convenience, the National Committee should on the one hand, function as an independent body (affiliated to the O.M.E.P. or otherwise) and, on the other, as a Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education.
III. On the basis of a draft prepared by Miss A. Rustomji and Mrs. Zarina Currimbhoy, the following aims and objects of the National Committee were adopted:
(i) to promote the study and education of young children on right lines in order to foster happy childhood;
(ii) to promote pre-school education;
(iii) to collect and spread. knowledge about the existing conditions of early childhood education in the country;
(iv) to encourage the education of parents in methods of dealing with young children;
(v) to encourage the training of personnel for early childhood education;
(vi) to publish pamphlets describing experiments being carried out by various agencies;
(vii) to promote the production of suitable literature for children;
(viii) to encourage and promote research in early childhood education;
(ix) to encourage libraries to maintain sections containing up-to-date books in various languages suitable for children; and
(x) to coordinate the activities of various agencies engaged in early childhood education.
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IV. There was general agreement among members regarding the great paucity of funds provided for early childhood education in the country. Mrs. Nehru stressed the need of reserving space for children's schools, parks and recreation centres in all housing co- operatives. Mr. Saiyidain and Miss Rustomji pointed out the great need of providing facilities for early childhood education in rural areas and big industrial centres.. The Committee decided that State Governments should be approached.
(1) to promote early childhood education by giving grants-in- aid, land and other facilities to organizations running schools for preschool children.
(2) to persuade municipalities and other local bodies:
(i) to take some measure of responsibility for early childhood education;
(ii) to make a survey about the number and types of pre-Primary schools, play and, recreation centres; children's parks, etc., being run in their jurisdiction; and
(iii) to extend to them all possible facilities by way of making grants and giving land, etc.
(3) to appoint officers specially concerned with early childhood education and welfare of pre-school children;
(4) to provide at least two large rooms with adequate space for, play wherever housing estates, with 50 residential units, are being built, and to induce municipal committees, and other local bodies to make similar provision in all new housing schemes for pre-Primary education centres.
(5) to encourage play-centres in rural and industrial areas;
(6) to make use of the Factories Act in enforcing provision for child-care and nursery education in factories and industrial plants.
V. It was further resolved to recommend to the Community Projects Administration to encourage schools of early childhood education as a part of their community development programme.
VI. The Committee considered the general dearth of suitably trained teachers for schools for earily childhood education and recommended that:
(i) Each State should start free long and short- term courses for training women teachers. It was suggested that States should send out to rural areas' mobile squads equipped with suitable educational material to give short-term training to women teachers and to demonstrate the need and manner of running play-centres where children may enjoy songs, dramas and stories and learn useful lessons in social adjustment.
(ii) Some idea of the pre-school education and some training in dealing with pre-school children should be given in all institutions training teachers for Primary school.
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(iii) Classes for children of pre-school age should be added to practising schools attached to Primary Teachers' Training schools and colleges and simple inexpensive material should be developed in those schools.
VII Mr. Saiyidain suggested that a brochure on early childhood education written in a popular style and well illustrated be prepared, amplifying some of the important points made in the working paper for the use of parents. It should not exceed 32 pages. The State Governments could later publish its translation in the regional languages. Miss Rustomji agreed to his request to prepare the first, draft.
On another suggestion made by him, the members agreed that many useful experiments in pre-school education which were being carried out in different parts of the country were not much known and a small pamphlet describing them would prove very useful. Mrs. Shiva Rao agreed to prepare its draft.
It was further agreed that another small pamphlet giving the minimum, basic essentials of knowledge about child welfare should be produced in Hindi for the use of parents in general. Mr. Saiyidain suggested that all members should send their suggestions and ideas for these pamphlets to the Secretary within two months. Mrs. Nehru offered to prepare a pamphlet in Hindi. Mrs. Das Gupta agreed to coordinate the material received. Mr. Shewak Bhojraj offered to send small folders dealing with specific problems involved in child upbringing and education.
VIII. At the suggestion of several members, it was resolved to recommend to the All India Radio to include three-minutes talks on specific topics pertaining to child education and welfare.