Page 41 - EducationWorld Feb 2021 Low

high-potential human capital. dents) and rank them in each city.
Unfortunately, AWCs across the Subsequently at our national confer-
country have been shut down for over ences, promoters and principals of
nine months with 80 million young- top-ranked preschools are felicitated
est children not only deprived of all- and presented prizes and certificates.
important ECCE, but also of free-of- ECCE leaders and profession-
charge nutrition provided by these als acknowledge the spearhead role
centres. According to Dr. Vijayta played by this education advocacy
Mahendru, a policy analyst at the publication in disseminating aware-
Delhi-based Centre for Budget and ness of professionally administered
Governance Accountability (CBGA), ECCE on government, educators and
a highly-respected Delhi-based think parents countrywide. “The impact of
tank (estb.2005), children in AWCs EducationWorld is huge, mammoth
have suffered “permanent, irrevers- and massive. Over the past 20 years,
ible, and irredeemable” damage dur- if any positive changes have happened
ing the pandemic prompted national in education, it’s because EW has
lockdown of pre-primary schools. raised them editorially, debated them
“ EXPERTS HAVE NOTED Mahendru: time sensitive matter gered the government and education
in conferences and constantly bad-

stakeholders. Also on behalf of the
that nutrition eclipses ECE
(early childhood education)
to thank EducationWorld for leverag-
in ICDS — both in terms of foundational ECCE upon the public Early Childhood Association, I’d like
of funds received as well as the time and government. Following a chance ing our work, at a time when we were
and attention given to it by the AWW encounter in 2005 with educationist- struggling to be heard and seen,” ac-
(anganwadi worker). This is due to philanthropists Lowell and Mike knowledged Dr. Swati Popat Vats
several reasons like lack of adequate Milken, co-promoters of Knowledge in a tribute to EW on the occasion of
resources, infrastructure, person- Universe, a Los Angeles-based corpo- its 20th anniversary in 2019.
nel training and overburdening of ration which owned Kinder Care, the The upshot of the concerted efforts
AWWs. Despite these shortcomings, largest chain of private preschools in spanning a decade of ECA, Education-
AWCs remain the largest providers of the US, who readily agreed to pur- World and knowledgeable education
ECE in India. The Covid-19 pandemic chase an equity stake in Education- professionals was that both the T.S.R.
has caused serious disruption to the World, this publication has convened Subramanian (2016) and Dr. K.
entire ICDS system… ECE is a time- ten international/national ECCE con- Kasturirangan (2018) committees
sensitive matter. Therefore, it is criti- ferences to discuss and debate early constituted to frame the National
cal, not only for the future of children, childhood education issues. Education Policy of the newly-elected
but of the entire society, that this mat- Moreover since 2010, we have (2014) BJP/NDA government at the
ter be addressed urgently, alternatives been conducting the annual Educa- Centre, recommended formalisation
devised promptly and children begin tionWorld India Preschool Rankings and greater official attention to ECCE.
to receive vital pre-school education,” which rate the Top 20 preschools in To the great satisfaction of your
wrote (September 29) Mahendru, an 16 cities and towns countrywide un- editors, the National Education Policy
economics postgrad of Delhi Univer- der ten parameters (including teacher (NEP), 2020 promulgated with great
sity and JNU and former consultant competence, infrastructure, safety & fanfare on July 29 last year accepted
with Tata Steel and Indian Council of hygiene, individual attention to stu- the recommendations of the Kasturi-
World Affairs, prior to signing up with rangan Committee to transfer jurisdic-
CBGA in 2019, in a blogpost for CBGA tion of ECCE from the Union ministry
(https://www.cbgaindia.org/blog/ The vast majority of of Women and Child Development to
losing-precious-time-impact-covid- youngest children receive the renamed (from HRD) Union edu-
19-early-childhood-education/). cation ministry, universalise early
The heavy damage suffered by the rudimentary ECCE in the childhood education and integrate it
ECCE sector is especially disheart- country’s 1.34 million with the formal primary-secondary
ening for your editors in Education- school system.
World. From the early years of the anganwadi centres, “Universal provisioning of quality
new millennium, this publication has established under the early childhood development, care and
been in the forefront of a national ini- education must be achieved as soon as
tiative to impact the vital importance Centre’s ICDS programme possible, and no later than 2030 to en-

FEBRUARY 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 41