Early childhood is a critical period and experiences during this time not only prepare children for formal schooling and life but can also improve their lifelong health and productivity. In today's time, public education needs to rethink its strategies for smart learning and early development of a child, says Sashwati Banerjee
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson’s inspirational talk “Changing the Education Paradigm” makes a compelling case on why education and especially public education needs to rethink its strategies in today’s context. He challenges the way we’re educating our children and champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.
Pre-primary education in India has always been a neglected area even though neuro-science has provided evidence that majority of brain development takes place before the age of five and it’s a lot easier to influence the developing brain than it’s to rewire it later. Experts say that early childhood is a critical period and experiences during this period prepare children for formal schooling and life.
India’s burgeoning population includes 159 million pre-school aged children as per the 2011, Indian Census, yet, only four in ten eligible children attend pre-primary schools, and fewer actually receive high quality educational experiences. The RTE (Right to Education) is a good move, yet, budget outlay for Government aided education kicks in only at age six and the private schools are no better at addressing the needs of pre-schoolers. This apathy will definitely have a ripple effect on future learning.
Consider these alarming facts that various studies in the recent past have revealed that the Primary grades are falling. PRATHAM’s Annual Status of Education Report, 2012, (ASER) based on a survey of 16,000 schools across India underlines the dismal state of education, particularly in Government schools. According to the latest report, levels of reading and math at every grade were not only poor, but also declining in many States.
Some of the highlights of the report are —
31.4 per cent of Class III children can’t read words in their own language
70.1 per cent of Class III children can’t solve a two digit subtraction problem — In 2010, seven out of ten students enrolled in Class V were able to solve simple 2 digit subtraction problem. This declined to six out of ten in 2011 and five out of ten in 2012.
72.5 per cent of Class V children can’t do a simple division problem
51.8 per cent of Class V children can’t read a Class II level text
It is imperative that like other countries around the globe, India should focus on and invest in early childhood education and have set standards and norms around quality and age appropriate education, especially in pre-schools. While pre-schools have mushroomed across the country, there are no clear regulations and standards and they all differ vastly from each other.
Yet, one thing that remains consistent is the growing emphasis on academics with the intent to prepare children for formal school and activities revolve around reading, writing and math (the 3R’s). Children are expected to know the letters, write sentences and solve number problems before they are developmentally ready to learn. Many pre-schools follow a rigid syllabus and use the ‘drill and practice’ way to make children learn and exercise books and copies are an integral part of the class. Children copy the letters and numbers several times, so much so that their brain gets conditioned to remember and reproduce these later.
This over emphasis on the 3R’s undermines the core skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity (4C’s). The type of early childhood experiences also are key — young children should have access to experiences that are age and developmentally appropriate and that are holistic, facilitating learning about the world through discovery and building of social and emotional skills through play.
However, most parents and the public in India remain concerned about academic success, the demand and now, the supply by private early childhood education has been primarily a downward extension of the primary curriculum. Children as young as two years are taught to count to 1,000 and to recite their alphabet, long before it is developmentally appropriate; the practice may actually be detrimental because they learn to mindlessly recite without truly understanding.
The status in public pre-schools, delivered through the Government’s flagship programme ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) doesn’t fare any better. Though it deploys a more developmentally appropriate curriculum, due to mismanagement, lack of funds and training, few states actually administer a high quality programme with their ICDS centers.
Young children need greater opportunities to learn in fun and enjoyable ways. Parents and teachers need guidance on the types of age and developmentally appropriate early learning approaches, that will serve children’s academic futures and success. Teachers need materials and training to create high-quality daily early learning experiences. And public and private pre-primary school administrators need to employ curricula that are consistent with what the evidence says is good for children. Interventions that address the crisis in early childhood education in India must address these multiple levels in multiple ways.
By 2025 this generation of children will be the global workforce and the 21st century will require skills that go much beyond the 3R’s. It’s clear that while reading and writing are important skills, they alone will not put a child on the road to success in school and life. Therefore, the schools and parents, need to redefine learning and support innovative ways to make children learn and cultivate an attitude of discovery and scientific thinking from early years.
The writer is Sashwati Banerjee, managing director, Sesame Workshop Initiatives India PlC.
