EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION
THE ARGUMENT 1.1 The Committee endorses the 'rationale' behind 'Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) as the NPE 1986 collectively describes activities fostering physical, mental, social, emotional and moral development of a child in 0-6 age group. By and large, the Committee reiterates the concern of the NPE and POA for ECCE and makes a similar stress on the need to improve the present structure.
1.2 The Committee sees ECCE as a significant support to universalization of elementary education and achievement of equal opportunity for women, stating that the POA has a fragmented approach by not acknowledging this significance. However, NPE 1986 and POA as a perusal of these documents reveals, do stress ECCE's relevance to UEE and programmes for the betterment of women. NPE 1986 views ECCE as a feeder and support programme for primary education and a support service for working women. Contrary to the statement of the Committee, the POA in its Chapter on Elementary Education stresses the need to establish play care centres for pre-school children and infants and the strengthening of ICDS programmes within the ECCE radius. It is evident that NPE 1986 and the POA both project an integrated and realistic approach to ECCE. The Committee really rearticulates the need for such an integrated approach.
1.3 Commenting upon the implementation of the ECCE programme, the Committee feels that effective implementation has been impeded
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by divided responsibilities between the Department of Education and Department of Women and Child Development as well as insufficient coordination in the context of ECCE between Departments and associated agencies and Ministry/Department like Labour, Rural Development, Environment and Forests.
1.4 This concern of the Committee has been expressed in the POA which has emphasised the need of coordinated functioning of various agencies - government and non-government to achieve the complex integral functions of the programme.
1.5 For effective implementation, the Committee stresses the need to evolve diverse and flexible ECCE models and structures and to strengthen the present structures specially the ICDS. The POA also emphasizes experimentation for evolving context-specific models. Greater attention towards practical implementation at field level is stressed by both the Committee and the POA. The POA also admits that the existing ECCE Centres and the programme of ICDS require strengthening. Similarly greater attention to personnel remuneration and training of the ICDS receive emphasis both in POA and NPERC.
1.6 It is thus to be seen that the stand that the NPERC takes on ECCE is much the same as the NPE - both stress the holistic nature of ECCE; and as such see its objectives as preparation of children for primary school; as support service for girls in UPE, and support service for working women in low-income groups. The NPERC also shares the concern that the POA has for proper implementation of the ECCE programmes. For this, a number of recommendations are made that are analysed as follows:-
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RECOMMENDATION NO. 104 2.1 The Committee recommends that the scope of the Constitutional Directive (Article 45) which is being interpreted to provide free and compulsory education to all children between 6-14 years of age, should be reinterpreted to cover the 0-6 age group as well. In other words, it recommends that free and compulsory education should be provided to all children 0-14 years of age. The rationale behind this recommendation is the Committee's view of EECE as an essential component in children's development and as a support service for universalisation of elementary education and women's development. Because it is so vital and because its spread so far has been so little, the Committee feels the need to encompass it within the Constitutional Directive.
2.2 While the emphasis on expanding ECCE is appreciated, its inclusion within the ambit of Article 45 should be seer, in light of the debate in the Constituent Assembly with regard to this Article. The proceedings of the Constituent Assembly reveal that the interpretation of the Article as covering the 6-14 age group is not narrower than intended. The Constituent Assembly did not have education of the 0-6 age group in mind. Including ECCE in this Article would therefore be contrary to the intention behind the Constitution.
2.3 It has also to be borne in mind that the Constitutional provision has not yet been achieved even with regard to the 6-14 age group. As the succeeding chapter
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on Universalisation of Elementary Education brings out, Govt. is still struggling with the target it had set itself. It would not be realistic to extend its scope and make the task even more difficult.
Summary
Article 45 symbolises the national resolve to provide elementary eduction to all children. This Directive principle has not yet been complied with. It would be inadvisable to entrust to the State, additional responsibilities whose achievement would be difficult .
RECOMMENDATION No. 105 2.4 Viewing ECCE as a cross-sectoral programme. The recommendation here says that ECCE should receive due attention at all stages of education. The emphasis here has been making ECCE a more effective support service for universal girls education and women's development, and upon ensuring that the requirements of ECCE for training, etc. are fully catered for.
2.5 The emphasis is well taken. A similar concern has been reflected in the POA to the NPE. The POA views ECCE as "an important input in the strategy of human resource development, as a feeder and support programme for primary education and as a support service for working women of the disadvantaged sections of society". Perhaps
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the only difference between the two Reports is that the NPERC paraphrases the step which the POA treats more tersely. In fact both the POA and NPERC state the need to recognise ECCE as a cross-sectoral programme and at operational level to integrate it as a component in the other schemes.
Summary
The POA takes the same view as the NPERC that ECCE should be addressed as an important input for the needs of children, women and girls.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 106 2.6 The minimum needs programme has evolved over several years, and its components are renewed from time to time by such responsible bodies as the Planning Commission, National Development Council, etc. It should be expected that these bodies would take the NPERC into consideration and would give the importance to child care that it deserves. However, it would not be correct for the NPE to make a statement as to what the minimum needs programme should contain.
Summary
NPE is not the place to make a suggestion regarding the minimum needs programme.
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RECOMMENDATION NO. 107 to 110 2. 7 These recommendations express the concern of the NPERC that the policy on ECCE has not been put into implementation with sufficent vigour. Noting the gap between need and provision and the fact that more than one Govt. Department share responsibility for implementation, the Committee seems to have come to the conclusion that clarity in the role and responsibility of various departments would help towards internalisation of policy directives and their translation into quick action. Vide these recommendations, therefore, it seeks to clarify the roles of each Department concerned and the mechanisms for greater coordination between them. Acknowledging the main role of the Department of Women and Child Development, the Committee also stresses that the Department of Education must not give up its basic responsibility for education of children from birth to 6 years.
2.8 It is felt that while the Committee's concern regarding coordination and implementation is well taken, a policy document cannot be made the place for expression of details that are essentially operational. The recommendations have been shared with the Department of woment and Child Development and it is expected that due consideration would be given to them.
2.9 As regards the role of this Department, even if it is not the role defined under Article 45, action has indeed been taken to link ECCE with other states of education.
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Reference in this regard is made to the externally assisted projects of Lok Jumbish and Bihar Education Project where ECCE forms a major programme by virtue of its contribution to children's growth and development, girls' participation in schools and child readiness for primary education. The continued concern for ECCE with the same exphasis as given by the NPERC is also reflected in the study entitled "Education for All by 2000 AD: Indian Perspective" conducted by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA).
Summary The concern for proper implementation of the NPE is well taken, but a policy statement is not the place for details concerning strategy and operationalisation. The Deptt. of Education is indeed continuing to give importance to linking ECCE with other stages of education.
RECOMMENDATIONS 111 to 114 2.11 All four recommendations make the same point that programmes for ECCE should be diverse, flexible and decentralised.
2.21 These points are well taken. As the Committee has itself observed, the POA has made the same point before it.
2.12 Here, as in the earlier recommendations, the
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Committee's main concern raises from the fact that implementation does not measure up to policy. Motivated by this, it has, therefore, spelt out operational details regarding the principle of diversity , flexibility and decentralisation. As with the earlier recommendations, it is felt that the concerned departments might be expected to take them into considerationin evolving strategies and programmes. However, making the policy the place to expatiate on strategy should not be necessary.
Summary
The recommendations reiterate, with operational details, what the POA has already said.
RECOMMENDATION 115 2.13 This deals with making ICDS more decentralised and participatory on the grounds that it has become a monolithic and topheavy model with a great deal of regidity.
2.14 The NPE has also said the same thing - "The local community will be fully involved" in programmes of ECCE. In pursuance of this, programmes models have been developed to give the community much greater say in running of ECCE programmes. A reference may be made here to the strategy adopted under the Lok Jumbish project in which mobilisation of the people is proposed to be brought about and participatory decision making encouraged
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for all processes of basic education. Similarly,the strategy for microplanning proposed by the 8th Plan Working Group envisages that the community will take responsibility for universal access and universal participation to basic education; in this process, making decisions regarding the design and location of programmes and support services for basic education.
2.15 As regards ICDS, it is seen that the scheme has also been evolving. It is proposed to convert Aangawadi-cum-creche centres and also provide benefits of ICDS to adolescent girls, generating awareness among women, and getting the community interested in the role and functioning of ICDS is part of the concern of that programme.
Summary
Community involvement in ECCE programmes has also been recognised by NPE. Strategies to increase community participation in basic education programmes (which include ECCE) are being evolved.
RECOMMENDATION 116 2.16 This recommendation continues the theme of the earlier one, and expresses the concern of the Committee to make concrete provisions that will help translate the policy into implementation. It, therefore asks that financial programatic details should be spelt out to strengthen and upgrade all existing models,promote innovative and experimental models, develop special programmes for
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specific under previleged groups and develop and promote media support for generating public awareness.
2.17 As the Committee itself acknowledges, all these aspects have already been given attention to in the POA. There is no arguing that to translate the POA into implementation, concrete provisions should be made. However, the point to be considered is merely whether such a statement should find place in a policy document.
Summary The recommendation endorses the POA and asks that details of implementation should be worked out.
The recommendation does not really relate to policy.
RECOMMENDATION 117 to 119 2.18 These recommendations relate to the content and quality of ECCE programmes. Here again, the Committee's approach is to endorse what has been said in the NPE and POA and to reiterate the point with greater emphasis. Because insufficient action has been taken towards implementation no new point has been made. The need for play and activity based curriculum discouraging the three Rs has been given ample emphasis as has been given by NPE and POA; the need for a proper child-worker (adult) ratio with adequate attention to training, has also been dealt with in POA. Likewise, the concern for the 0-3 age group is reflected in the earlier policy.
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2.19 With reference to the basic principles of curriculum and content being related to localised content, it noted that while it is correct that in the ECCE chapter in POA, localised content in the ECCE curriculum has not been mentioned, sufficient emphasis on this point of localising content of curriculum has indeed been made in the chapter that calls for reorienting the content and process of education. Secondly, it is noted that emphasis on this aspect has already been given in the existing curriculum for non formal pre- school education through ICDS. Stressing that "the intention is not to teach the three Rs but develop in the child desirable social attitudes, values and behavioural patterns and " provide environmental stimulation, the manual on the ICDS prepared by the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCED), the nodal resource agency for the programme calls for flexibility in the programme contents and method stimulation and encouragement to the child to grow at its own pace and the use of "indigenous materials and culture through play activities for this purpose". It is, thus seen that the existing formulation of ECCE has been sufficient to provide for what the Committee now recommends.
Summary
No new point is made. The NPE and POA have also placed emphasis on the same point.
Existing pre-primary school curricula also discourage
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introduction of three Rs, formal teaching methods, etc. They encourage localised content through indigenous materials and culture.
RECOMMENDATIONS 120 to 126 2. 20 Although these recommendations have been clubbed together by the Committee, they deal with four different points. Recommendation 120 calls for immediate implementation of the policy for remuneration of ECCE workers spelt out in POA. On this point which has already been brought to the notice of the Department implementing the programmes, it may be noted that no change in policy formulation has been called for. Recommendations 121 to 124 discuss personnel training for ECCE. 124 reiterates what is said in the POA in respect of creation of a system of accreditation of incentives dealing with ECCE. The other three strive to pin the training responsibility on to the Department of Education, both at the centre and in the States. The Committee recommends that DIETs should assume responsibility for training in ECCE and establish a field based network for this purpose. 2.21 This point requires some reconsideration. Firstly, the Women and Child Development Department have established over the years, an elaborate network for training which caters to the need not only of the programme functionaries at field and supervisory levels but also to workers in linked programmes such as Gramsevaks, District
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Magistrates, District Welfare Officers, District Medical Officers, etc. This training structure has the NIPCED at its head at the Centre, Regional Centres of NIPCED at Guwahati, Lucknow and Bangalore and several other training institutions selected from among home science colleges, child development departments, etc. all over the country. The training curricula have been worked out at each level, for each of type of functionary, and for each component of the programme.
2. 22 The DIETs have before them the responsibility of training of very large personnel. It would not be possible for them to undertake the training of ECCE personnel as well with the same reasonable level of efficiency. At the most one would think in terms of training of resource persons of the departments concerned through the DIETS, whose in turn would be the responsibility for undertaking personnel training of ECCE.
2.23 As such, personnel training should remain the primary responsibility of the Department of Women and Child Development - the nodal agency for implementation. The role of the Department of Education can come in through interaction and assistance to supplement the component of educational training.
2.24 Recommendation 125 calls for vocational education of ECECCE at the plus two level. It harks back to the earlier recommendtion No.105. The point has already been made that the POA has the same approach. In reiteration,
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the POA is quoted below: - Following would be some of the important parameters for meeting the training resources; (i) initiating a two year vocational course in ECCE at plus two level with the objective to grow basic skills which can later be adopted through job training for specific situations: .
2.25 Recommendation 126 deals with the training programmes of elementary school teachers and the need to emphasize child centred and non formal approaches in primary schools. This aspect has been dealt with by the Committee at great length under the chaper concerning UEE, therefore, by this document also under that chapter. It would be sufficient here to say that the emphasis is well placed and is being taken into account already.
Summary