PUNE: At Edufest, a three-day training programme organised by ‘Early Childhood Association’ (ECA), the organisation urged the ministry to form guidelines for pre-primary education.
Around 900 teachers had participated in the event. The festival also saw the launch of a mobile app in eight languages, which is aimed at training these workers.
The ECA has proposed to lobby with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry and urge the department to form a national policy and guidelines for pre-primary education.
According to National Core Committee Member of ECA Aditya Tapadia, the association wants the ministry to undertake quality assessment check for pre-schools, which are mushrooming in every street corner across all cities. More than 70 per cent of their teachers lack necessary training skills and fail to offer significant education.
“ECA had a detailed discussion with former HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on various issues including the planning of appropriate curriculum, carrying out a quality audit for the schools and conducting a mandatory entry and exit quality tests through ECA for all teachers and trainers. We have also noticed that several schools coerce students between the age group of three to six years to read and write, which is inconsiderate and should be stopped. A child’s early years play a crucial role in his or her development,” said Tapadia.
He further said, “The new curriculum, known as Aakaar (Shape), which has been designed to ensure early childhood care and education by using playful methods, should be included in all pre-schools and not be restricted only to anganwadis. We have also set up a list for enhancing safety standards in each school to ward off any untoward incidents.”
The festival saw the participation of 28 trainers from across India who trained teachers from over 80 pre-schools in Pune. About 350 teachers also participated individually. The festival held 96 workshops and also focused on the development and involvement of school workers and staff.
