Early Childhood Education
ECE in India: A Quick Glance
Approx. 27% of children in the 5-6 age cohort are in Anganwadis, a sharp decrease from 50% 4-5 year olds (ASER 2019)
School readiness outcomes are alarmingly low, with only 24% of 5-year-olds being able to do a simple listening comprehension task (ASER 2019)
Only one in six (17%) 5-year-olds could complete a simple pictorial pattern (IECEI Study, 2014)
Both, National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National ECCE Policy 2013, recognize the critical importance of investing in young learners. However, we find that there is inadequate provision and lack of prioritization of ECE in both Anganwadis and government Pre-Primary Sections. This leads to poor learning levels of children before they enter grade 1.
Our Approach to Improve ECE in India
Research, Advocacy and Knowledge Partnerships
Conduct research on & evaluate various ECE models to increase effective learning time in Anganwadis and Pre-Primary Sections in Government schools. Build salience at National and State levels on evidence-based approaches to quality ECE. Read more in our in-depth piece for ‘The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2019 : Early Years’ here.
State Projects
Provide advisory and techno-managerial support to state governments to pilot and scale innovative solutions to universalise quality ECE. Our support aims to increase teaching time, provide more and better support to teachers and strengthen caregivers’ awareness of ECE and their role in home-learning. Read more on our School Readiness Pilots conducted in Karnataka and Gujarat here.
