Spared the heavy-handed and usually obsolete regulations of Central and state government educrats and itching palms of school inspectors for 65 years since independence, privately-provided nursery and preschool education is about to be included within the regulatory ambit of government.

On September 20, the Union cabinet approved a draft National Early Childhood Care and Education (NECCE) Bill of the Union ministry of women and child development (WCD). The WCD policy draft proposes establishment of national and state ECCE (early childhood care and education) councils for implementation and monitoring NECCE; development of a NECCE curriculum framework, quality standards, and empower-ment of WCD to make necessary policy corrections.

Stating that the “cardinal principles” on which the policy draft is based are “universal access, equity and quality in ECCE,” the Bill recommends transformation of all 1.35 million anganwadi centres (AWCs) —  maternal and child nutrition centres established by the Union government under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) — into  AWCs-cum-creches “with adequate infrastructure and resources for ensuring a continuum of ECCE in a life-cycle approach and child related outcomes” — a long-standing demand of EducationWorld.

Subsequent to drafting the NECCE Bill which has been approved by the Union cabinet, WCD has reportedly sent state governments a circular prescribing minimum floor space area (35 sq. metres per classroom with 30 sq. metres of outdoor space), teacher-pupil ratio (1:20), teacher qualifications and primary medium of instruction applicable to all (i.e. private) preschools.

The NECCE policy draft has spooked promoters of the country’s 299,357 private preschools with an aggregate enrolment of 6.5 million middle class children, hitherto spared the attention of the Central and state governments and their army of rents-seeking school inspectors. “If nurseries are unable to provide the prescribed classrooms and outdoor spaces, they will have to close depriving large sections of society of preschool education,” says Amol Arora, managing director of the Shemrock & Shemford schools which run a chain of 225 preschools countrywide. “More-over forcing preschools to provide instruction in the mother tongue will drag early childhood education back to the dark ages,” he adds.

However Swati Popat Vats, president of the Podar Education Network and promoter-chairperson of the Mumbai-based Early Childhood Association (ECA, estb. 2010) which has a member-ship of 849 preschools countrywide, welcomes the NECCE draft Bill subject to further debate and discussion. “The provision for transforming the country’s 1.35 million anganwadis into full-fledged nurseries/preschools is long overdue and will significantly improve the quality of India’s 158 million 0-5 child popu-lation. Moreover the minimum class-room and outdoor spaces stipulations are also welcome because they will ensure that young children aren’t cooped up in tiny unhealthy class-rooms. For the same reason the prescribed teacher-pupil ratios of 1:20 for children aged 3-6 and 1:10 for younger children is also welcome as are minimal teacher qualifications. More-over a careful reading of the primary language stipulation of the draft Bill doesn’t rule out teaching in English simultaneously. ECA has drawn up a list of suggestions — including appoint-ment of the association as a regulator and certification authority under the Bill. I am confident about our suggestions being acceptable to the Central and state governments,” says Popat Vats.

Dr. Venita Kaul, director of the Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development at the Ambedkar University, Delhi also welcomes the WCD initiative to prescribe minimum norms. “The ministry’s proposals prescribing minimum standards for ECCE instit-utions were overdue and could significantly improve the quality of our grossly neglected human resource pool. However it would be advisable for the NECCE Bill to allow sufficient flexibility to state and local governments for adaptation to ground conditions,” says Kaul.

Even as the NECCE Bill is set to be enacted speedily, it’s important to bear in mind that almost all noble and high-sounding education legislation has been perverted in the implementation. In the circumstances, the admittedly neces-sary regulation of preschool education may prove to be a two-edged sword.

Autar Nehru (Delhi)