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Issues and Directions in ECCE

5.1 ISSUES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION

There are some critical issues which are not appropriately addressed, may be
because we have compromised with the quality standards for ECCE both at Notes
the individual or the government level. These are not being addressed during
planning, implementation and monitoring of the ECCE programmes. Let us
study some of these issues in detail:

5.1.1 Process of Admission

There is not much clarity and transparency on the process of admission of
children in ECCE centres in terms of date of admission, age for admission and
correct admission procedure. It is observed that children are also being enrolled
in preschools through formal tests especially in metropolitan and other big
cities. This is being practiced perhaps due to the large number of applicants
seeking admission in preschools. Such practices lead to rejection of children
which may destroy their self-confidence and self-esteem at this tender age.

5.1.2 Infrastructure, Material and Classroom Environment

ECCE centres are lacking in age and developmentally appropriate equipment
and play materials. Mostly, these are inadequate for the number of children
enrolled in ECCE centres. The play material provided does not meet the criteria
prescribed and are also not well maintained. In some cases, these materials are
not safe and are not even appropriately used by the teachers. Apart from this,
the classroom environment does not provide opportunities to the children to
manipulate and explore the material for learning.

5.1.3 Teachers
Qualified and well - trained teachers are vital for the successful implementation
of an ECCE programme. Issues with the teachers pertain to their qualification,
appointment, salary and training/ capacity building. There are variations in the
qualification of ECCE teachers appointed. They may be possessing Nursery
Teachers Training (NTT) or Bachelors in Education (B.Ed.). Pre-service
training courses such as NTT, diploma/ certificate courses are being run by the
unregulated institutions mushrooming everywhere. Similarly, some regulated
institutes are running various types of ECCE/NTT courses of varied duration
not recognized by the appropriate authority. In-service training of teachers is
one of the vital but neglected and underdeveloped area in the whole country.
There are no provisions for capacity building of in-service ECCE teachers to
help keep them abreast with the latest developments mainly with regard to the
use of technology and teaching learning process.
Also, there are variations in pay norms for ECCE teachers and most are under-

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