Because of Covid-19 complications, this year’s survey of the best preschools is restricted to six cities where there is greater awareness and appreciation of high-quality early childhood education, viz Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad – Dilip Thakore & Summiya Yasmeen Over a decade ago in 2010 when there was minimal awareness of the vital importance of professionally administered early childhood care and education (ECCE), your editors conducted the first ever ratings and ranking of pre-primaries, aka preschools in the major cities of India. The rankings survey was followed by several seminars/conferences at which ECCE experts of international and national renown called attention to the crucial role of scientifically designed, play-based interactive curriculums and global best practices, and India’s most-reputed ECCE providers networked and exchanged notes. Thus far this pioneer publication has conducted nine national surveys ranking of the most respected and admired preschools in 16 cities and towns of India. Moreover we have staged an equivalent number of national ECCE conferences at which hitherto totally ignored promoters, principals and teachers of top ranked preschools across the country were awarded and celebrated. Please also note that since 2018 we have been rating, ranking and celebrating the country’s best government-promoted anganwadis — essentially nutrition centres for new-borns and lactating mothers that also provide a modicum of early childhood education. Currently there are 1.6 million anganwadis operational countrywide which provide basic ECCE to 85 million of the country’s 165 million children in the 0-6 age group. Thus for over a decade your editors have been championing the cause of universal professionally administered ECCE for youngest children. Persistent championing of universal ECCE by your editors has paid off, even if belatedly. The new National Education Policy 2020 made public on July 29, accords heavy importance to professionally administered ECCE for infants. It proposes replacement of the current national 10+2 primary-secondary and higher secondary schools system with a 5+3+3+4 system incorporating five years of foundational education for all children in the 3-8 age group. This means that three years of pre-primary education followed by two years of primary classes — hitherto entirely voluntary and provided to a small minority of children from middle and elite class households — will soon become compulsory and universal. With your editors repeatedly highlighting well-researched studies, particularly of Nobel laureate Dr. James Heckman to the effect that since children’s brains are 80 percent developed by age eight, and that a dollar invested in professionally provided ECCE is better spent than dollars later in the education continuum, the imminent switch to the 5+3+3+4 school system is likely to usher in a sea-change in Indian education resulting in markedly better learning outcomes in school and higher education. Unfortunately because of the massive disruption caused within the education system by the raging Coronavirus pandemic which has prompted the Union and state governments to force closure of all education institutions — pre-primaries, schools, colleges and universities across the country have been shuttered since March 25 — and equal disruption in industry, business…
