Page 38 - EducationWorld Feb 2021 Low

Cover Story

education system to the verge of col-
lapse and mobilised leading early
childhood organisations to advocate
for Covid-19 financial packages to
protect early education programmes,”
says a PMC report of the US National
Library of Medicine — National Insti-
tutes of Health (July 13, 2020).
B education sector hasn’t
ACK HOME IN INDIA THE

blipped on the radars
of the Central and state
governments. The prime minister’s
illusory Rs.20 lakh crore pandemic
relief package announced last May
contained no relief for the country’s
450,000 private schools (or private Popat Vats: women hit hardest EuroKids Rajan: brutal impact
higher education institutions) which
host 47.5 percent (119 million) of all sale are fairly accurate and not alarm- Popat Vats, president of the Podar
school-going children. ist at all. They are a wake-up call for Jumbo Kids network of 170 owned
Moreover, 400,000 budget private the Central government, which has and 330 franchised preschools, and
schools (BPS) with an aggregate en- accorded ECCE (early childhood care founding president of ECA.
rolment estimated at 60 million and and education) high importance in Inevitably, the national lockdown
55,000 private pre-primaries/pre- the National Education Policy 2020, of pre-primary education institutions
schools have been callously excluded to provide a pandemic relief pack- has hit proprietorial standalone pre-
from the category of MSMEs (micro, age for private preschools. Although schools, typically promoted by former
small and medium enterprises) which some public sector banks are advanc- teachers and edupreneurs attracted by
have been provided some pandemic ing loans to preschool promoters, the freedom from government regulations
relief by way of soft credit, loan mora- paperwork and long-drawn out pro- that the private ECCE sector enjoys,
toriums and long-term loans. On the cesses are a great disincentive. The harder than it has well-resourced pro-
contrary, not only are private pre- Central and state governments should fessionally managed corporates that
schools being denied relief loans by bear in mind that the great majority have debuted in this sector in the new
public sector banks, several myopic of private preschools are promoted by millennium. These corporates such as
state governments have encouraged women, and most teachers are wom- EuroKids, Podar Jumbo Kids and Kid-
parents to stop paying fees while pro- en. Therefore, women including work- zee typically operate under the fran-
scribing online interaction between ing mothers have been hit very hard chise model providing edupreneurs
pre-primary teachers and pupils. by the prolonged closure of preschools the right to use their well-established
As a result according to some me- for over nine months. With many of brand names, infrastructure manage-
dia reports, almost half the country’s them in danger of losing their savings ment and teacher training services
estimated 55,000 private preschools and years of effort in establishing and and well-researched and tested ECCE
have shut down operations and anoth- modernising their schools, govern- curriculums, in consideration of fran-
er 25 percent are struggling to survive. ment should direct public sector banks chisees paying them quarterly or an-
According to a survey conducted in to provide long-term loans to private nual fees. Unsurprisingly, franchised
October 2020 by the Mumbai-based preschool proprietors to tide them preschools given the aid and assis-
Early Childhood Association (ECA, over the pandemic, save teachers’ jobs tance of well-resourced franchisor
estb.2011) which has a membership of and fulfill the objectives of NEP 2020. companies, have been able to continue
48,000 mainly private preschools and With education being a concurrent the learning of their children, even if
teachers across the country, 2,000 list subject under the Constitution, less effectively than in normal pre-
ECA member and over 5,000 non- the task of saving the country’s pri- pandemic times.
member pre-primaries countrywide vate preschools is being passed back Prajodh Rajan, president of the
have thrown in the towel and wound and forth between the Centre and the Mumbai headquartered EuroKids In-
up their enterprises. states and there is a clear danger of all ternational Pvt. Ltd (estb.2001) which
“Media reports stating that a large the recent gains of professionalising has franchised 1,100 preschools in 350
number of pre-primaries are up for ECCE being lost,” warns Dr. Swati cities across the country and claims

38 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2021