Fortunately the ECCE sector has been spared the heavy hand of government interference which has ruined K-12 and higher education institutions of West Bengal. Therefore insulated from government regulation, preschools dispensing good, bad and indifferent ECCE are flourishing in the City of Joy Though the number of pre-primaries (39) ranked in the eastern metropolis of Kolkata (pop.15 million) is comparatively less than in other metros (Mumbai: 69, Delhi: 66 and Bangalore: 80), there’s sufficient awareness within the city’s bhadralok (refined middle class) of the importance of high-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) to prepare children to derive the full benefit of school and higher education. Over the past decade several greenfield preschools — proprietary and franchised — have sprung up in the city to meet the growing demand for professionally rendered ECCE from millennial parents. Fortunately, the ECCE sector has been spared the heavy hand of government regulation and interference which has ruined K-12 and higher education institutions in West Bengal. The CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist)-led Left Front government, which uninterruptedly ruled West Bengal for 34 years (1977-2011), decimated the state’s education system by infiltrating quasi-literate party members into the academy. Unfortunately, its successor Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of Mamata Banerjee, now in its second five-year term in office, has done precious little to initiate reforms. However, insulated from government interference, pre-primaries dispensing good, bad and indifferent ECCE are flourishing and multiplying in Kolkata, the state’s admin capital. Proprietary/owned preschools The five-year reign of the vintage Mongrace Montessori House, Short Street (MM-SH, estb.1964) as Kolkata’s #1 proprietary preschool is not over though its victory margin has been reduced to five points, ahead of its affiliated Mongrace Montessori, New Town (estb. 2010), ranked #2 for the second consecutive year. The 581 parents with at least one child in preschool and 80 pre-primary principals and teachers interviewed by Delhi-based market research and opinion polls company C fore in Kolkata have rated and ranked MM-SH #1 for competence of teachers, safety and hygiene, special needs education, teacher care and development and value for money across the proprietary and franchised categories. “That MM-SH has retained its #1 rank despite stiff competition is very fulfilling for us. Over the past 54 years since we admitted our first batch of toddlers, we have initiated several generations into the world of education. The fact that Mongrace, New Town is a close second doubles our joy. Our 32 teachers are highly qualified in Montessori pedagogy and undergo constant professional development. Therefore, our top-rating under the parameter of competence of teachers is very satisfying. Many of them have completed online certificate courses on global citizenship and use of ICT of the British Council. I believe it’s the willingness of our teachers to adopt and integrate contemporary pedagogies that keeps us on the top of the EW league table,” says Suman Sood, a graduate of Panjab and Calcutta universities who took charge as principal of MH-SH in 2011. Currently, this pre-primary has 300 students mentored by 32 teachers. While…
