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Sankara Matriculation Higher Sec- affordable English-medium primary age will enter primary schools with
ondary School, Chennai, which has education, are experiencing reverse weak foundational learning that may
1,200 students and 58 teachers on its migration. According to a survey hinder them through the education
muster rolls. conducted by the Tamil Nadu Pri- continuum.
This unprecedented phenomenon vate Schools Association (TNPSA), “It’s now proven beyond doubt
of dwindling preschool admissions in 2020-21 an estimated 3,000 that 80 percent of brain develop-
is confirmed by Sudha Malini, students have migrated to free-of- ment happens in the first eight
principal of the CBSE-affiliated RMK charge government schools. Even the years. Therefore, children’s brains
Senior Secondary School, Thiru- rock-bottom Rs.5,000-25,000 per shouldn’t be idle in the early years.
verkadu. “We used to offer a total of year fees levied by BPS have become Although most parents believe that
150 seats in LKG every year. In the unaffordable for a growing number children don’t learn sufficiently in
past academic year, admissions are of working class households because online classes, an hour of carefully
down to 60, and this year 50 parents of jobs and income losses. curated digital learning per day is
took our application forms but only With a rising number of young- better than no education at all.
30 have paid the stipulated admis- est children dropping out of the Parents should not fall prey to false
sion/tuition fee. For pre-KG, we used all-important foundational ECCE propaganda,” says Sudha Malini
to have 80 admissions. Last year (early childhood care and educa- (quoted earlier).
they dropped to three, and this year tion) which is given pride of place in This argument is persuasive.
there are no preschool admission the new National Education Policy Clearly a glass half full is better than
applications,” says Malini. (NEP) 2020 -- promulgated on July no water at all. The minds of young-
Even low-cost budget private 29 last year and awaiting implemen- est children need to be active and
schools (BPS) which hitherto at- tation -- ECCE educators fear that stimulated in their early years. Later
tracted children of lower middle and a large percentage of India’s 164 may be too late.
working class households anxious for million children under five years of Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai)

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