The Early
Childhood Association with Podar Institute of Education conducted this
much-needed survey to find out whether the burden of heavy academics that is
put on our young children (age 2 to 6 years) is due to schools or parents. The
survey was conducted over a period of months beginning from June 2016. We
interviewed 1920 school heads and principals from Mumbai (320), Delhi (320), Pune
(320) and Bangalore (320) and Ahemdabad (320) and Chennai (320) and 1921
(average 320 parents in each city) parents from the same cities.
We feel
that this is what politicians, parents, schools and policy makers should be
debating and deliberating on- how to improve the nurturing that we give our
youngest citizens and how to keep them away from this toxic stress called
syllabus and testing in kindergartens.
Early
Childhood Association strongly advocates for stress free kindergarten years
which is also mentioned in the Early Childhood Policy of the Women and Child
Development Ministry, we are not in favour of stopping children from going to
preschools because research has proven that play based environments help young
children develop better social and emotional skills. We are not in favour of
some state governments banning children below the age of 3 from going to crèche
and playschools. It is a completely misunderstood directive, what is required
is to remove heavy academics and ensure that young children get play based
environments to grow. Also attached is the ECCE policy of the government of
India which also states the same and gives clear indication on what
kids should be doing at what age, it does not say ban preschools.
What has
gone wrong with preschools in our country when we have a well drafted Early
Childhood Policy and Curriculum by the Union Ministry of Women and Child
Development? Our problem is that one ministry at the state level does not
handle education. Early childhood care is handled by WCD but early childhood
education is looked into by…well no one at the state level! This leaves no
choice but for preschools to make their own curriculum or become ‘preparatory
centers’ for standard one. State governments are now starting to ‘regulate’
preschools but without having a policy on quality or curriculum how can the
state regulate, you regulate something that is defined and set, when nothing is
defined or set then what are you regulating? And why is each state redefining
the early childhood policy and curriculum? Children between the ages of birth
to 6 years go through the same stages of development in every part of the
country so then why the need to reinvent the wheel and waste precious public
money when there is a great policy and curriculum drafted by the central
Ministry? The solution to this can come only if Early Childhood Care and
Education is not a concurrent subject at the state level. Then we will have a
common standard of care and education across the length and breath of our
country and our children, our future will get the care and nurturing they
deserve.
At the
recently held Seventieth Session of the United Nations General Assembly, a new
set of global development goals were set that will establish the Development
Agenda for United Nations Members States through 2030. To achieve the goals,
access to quality early childhood development is recognized as essential for
not just human development, but also sustainable development.
“What we
are learning about all the elements that affect a child’s brain – whether her
body is well nourished, whether her mind is stimulated, whether she is
protected from violence — must change the way we think about early childhood
development … and how we act,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “To
give every child a fair chance in life, we need to invest early, invest
equitably, and invest smartly – not only in education, but in health, in
nutrition, and in protection.”
And that
is what we believe we need to give all children in our country, in the first 6
years of life- health, nutrition, protection, and education.
The results of this survey
were an eye opener as the results clearly showed that not only are parents
unaware of what should be taught to children and when but sadly even the
principals and heads of schools who are the experts trusted by the parents and
trained in education (they do have educational degrees) were clueless about
laws, policy and curriculum defined in ECE by the government. They are still
shackled by age-old redundant practices and unwilling to change.
Toddlers
as young as two years are made to hold pencils and go over dotted lines in
worksheets. Three year olds are made to recite rhymes in front of a class and
then graded and marked on their ‘performance’. Children are taught number 1 and
then number 7, skipping the rest in between because standing line numbers
should be taught together! Completely overlooking the fact that letters need
not be taught in the A to Z format but numbers need to be taught in the order
of counting or else children will not have a foundational base of what number
comes before, after etc. This is the confused state of preschool curriculum.
So why is
the above ‘cancer of education’ an integral part of our preschools? If you ask
the preschools they blame it on parents, it’s the parents that want their child
to read and write at an early age. To what gain? What do we achieve when we
push children towards this senseless method of ‘education’ when they should be
learning with play? Are we scoring on the PISA results? Not at all. Finland
that has no formal learning for children up to the age of 7 is scoring better
than all countries. So we have school heads flocking to visit schools in
Helsinki, but is there any change in the way we teach our preschoolers? Absolutely
not, it is the heads of schools that feel that preschoolers should be given
more reading and writing!
Early Childhood Association
recommends that education of schools heads and parents is a must both by the
ministry of women and child development and by association like ours, we will
be sharing this study with all our members and appealing to them to make the
kindergarten years based on play based learning as given in our policy and to
do away with senseless toxic academic stress being put on the children. The
Early Childhood Association is also planning to have a one day Consultative
Forum with Heads of schools and preschool brands to decide a common curriculum
that should be followed by member schools.
This survey brought to light
the following anomalies and ‘cancer’ in our preschool system-
1.
There is not much of a difference seen in the
replies given by school heads and parents. This brings to fore the question
that what is the use of a degree in education if it does not prepare and
educate one on the right way to teach.
2.
Both parents and school heads are not
questioning the relevance of traditional practices for new age learners. So
while many school heads are thinking about and embracing changes in primary and
secondary education methods they are not open to changes in preprimary
education.
3.
In both the minds of school heads and parents
preschool education remains tied to performance. (55% parents and 52% school
heads connect preprimary to preparing kids to learn for standard one, 78%
school heads and 80% parents believe in testing preprimary children, 60% school
heads and 54% parents are not in favor or removing heavy academics from
preschool and replacing it with play)
4.
Reliefs like no homework, tests etc. given to
primary children but none to preprimary.
5.
Neither the school heads nor parents are aware
about the government’s ECCE policy and curriculum. (Only 21% school heads and
2% parents are aware about the policy)
6.
Both school heads and parents want preschools
to focus only on preparing children for standard one- like a preparatory stage
not a stage focused on brain development or nurturing developmental skills. (55%
parents and 52% school heads)
7.
Decisions by both groups regarding preschool
education and curriculum are based not on policy or research but on blind age
old practices.
8.
Some school heads were aware that the
kindergarten curriculum being followed by them was not in sync with either the
ECE curriculum of the Ministry or in sync with the standard one syllabus
outlined by NCERT but were still following the same, not ready to bring in
changes. (77% are aware)
9.
Women and child development ministry is
aggressively looking into malnutrition, health and safety of women and children,
we strongly feel the study suggests that there should either be a separate
department in the ministry to look after Early Childhood Education every
state to have a common policy and curriculum for preschools, it should not be a
concurrent subject.
10.
The Women and Child Development ministry should
define a curriculum/syllabus for preschools and this should be implemented
across all preschools in India and not left to schools to choose their own
‘toxic curriculum/syllabus’. (Check out point 20 of the survey)
Why
heavy academics are being pushed down to kindergartens in India?- survey
results-
1.
According to you at what age can children hold
a pencil to write?
Ans- developmentally a child can pick up a
pencil and hold even by age 2 but to make the child hold for writing should not
be before age 4, our ECE policy also states the same.
According
to you at what age can children hold a pencil to write?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Age 2
|
65%
|
68%
|
Age 3
|
35%
|
32%
|
Age 4
|
None
|
None
|
Any age
|
None
|
None
|
2.
According to you which grip is required for
children to hold a pencil correctly?
Ans- the three fingers required for holding a
pencil in correct manner is called the tripod grip. When children do not use
the tripod grip then writing style, speed and clarity suffers.
According
to you which grip is required for children to hold a pencil correctly?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Pincer grip
|
24%
|
22%
|
Palmer grip
|
7%
|
9%
|
Tripod grip
|
4%
|
3%
|
Holding grip
|
65%
|
72%
|
3.
According to you at what age should children are
able to write letters and numbers?
Ans- not before the age of 5, ECCE policy
also states the same.
According
to you at what age should children be able to write letters and numbers?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Age 2
|
0%
|
0%
|
Age 3
|
85%
|
88%
|
Age 4
|
15%
|
12%
|
Any age
|
0%
|
0%
|
4.
According to you at what age should children
be able to copy from the blackboard and write in their books?
Ans- not before the age of 7. And why is this
still required? When in every sphere we are moving away from stagnant practices
then why not in education? Where is this skill going to help them in future?
According
to you at what age should children be able to copy from the blackboard and
write in their books?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Age 2
|
0%
|
0%
|
Age 3
|
12%
|
10%
|
Age 4
|
56%
|
62%
|
Age
5
|
32%
|
28%
|
5.
According to you at what age should children
be introduced to addition?
Ans- addition is a complex mathematical
application and can be taught only after children know basic concepts like
number value, number counting etc. which is developmentally in place only by
age 6 onwards.
According
to you at what age should children be introduced to addition?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Age 2
|
0%
|
0%
|
Age 3
|
9%
|
7%
|
Age 4
|
76%
|
70%
|
Age 5
|
15%
|
23%
|
Any
other age
|
0%
|
0%
|
6.
According to you at what age should children
be introduced to subtraction?
Ans- if addition is at age 6 onwards then
subtraction age 7 onwards
According
to you at what age should children be introduced to subtraction?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Age 2
|
0%
|
0%
|
Age 3
|
0%
|
0%
|
Age 4
|
34%
|
43%
|
Age 5
|
66%
|
57%
|
Any
other age
|
0%
|
0%
|
7.
Should children be given tests in the
kindergarten years? (3 to 6 years)
Ans- absolutely against early childhood
parameters of research and development. Even our RTE act has banned the same.
Should
children be given tests in the kindergarten years? (3 to 6 years)
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Yes
|
78%
|
80%
|
No
|
32%
|
20%
|
8.
If yes which of these tests would you think
are suitable –
If yes which of these tests would you think
are suitable
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Only Oral
|
12%
|
23%
|
Written
|
12%
|
10%
|
Both
|
76%
|
67%
|
9.
If no, why not.
If no, why not.
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Because
it is not age appropriate and can cause stress
|
12%
|
13%
|
Because
it is not necessary
|
2%
|
22%
|
Because
I don’t think it is right, but I don’t know reason
|
86%
|
65%
|
10.
Why do you think it is important for children
to read and write during the kindergarten years?
Why
do you think it is important for children to read and write during the
kindergarten years?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Because
it will help them get admission in a good primary school
|
12%
|
67%
|
Because
it will help them cope better with studies in later school years
|
60%
|
13%
|
Because
we were taught like that and we are fine.
|
28%
|
20%
|
11.
Would you agree if your child’s school/ government,
if they remove all reading writing and
number workbooks and instead replaces it with play and project based
curriculum?
Would
you agree If your child’s school/ if the government removes all reading
writing and number work books and instead replaces it with play and project
based curriculum?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Yes
|
12%
|
22%
|
No
|
60%
|
54%
|
Maybe
|
28%
|
24%
|
12.
If yes, please select your reason.
If yes, select your reason
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Times have changed so why not the curriculum
|
23%
|
19%
|
Because
other countries like Finland and Belgium have done it then why cant we
|
34%
|
15%
|
Because
I don’t think young kids should be stressed
|
43%
|
66%
|
13.
If no please state your reason.
If
yes, select your reason
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Because
If there is no academics then why am I sending my child to kindergarten?/why
would parents send children to kindergarten
|
45%
|
48%
|
Because
I want my child to be ready for standard one/because they have to be ready
for standard one
|
55%
|
52%
|
14.
The replies that you gave for the above questions
were based on your knowledge gained from which of the following
The replies that you gave for the above
questions were based on you knowledge gained from which of the following
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
My childhood experience
|
5%
|
8%
|
Research that I have read
|
12%
|
8%
|
I referred to national ECE curriculum
|
2%
|
0%
|
My years of experience as a head/parent
|
81%
|
84%
|
15.
Do you think early writing, reading and
number work can cause stress in children?
Do
you think early writing, reading and number work can cause stress in
children?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Yes
|
20%
|
23%
|
No
|
32%
|
38%
|
Not always
|
48%
|
39%
|
16.
If yes can this stress be harmful?
If
yes Can this stress be harmful?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Yes
|
45%
|
38%
|
No
|
32%
|
34%
|
I am not sure
|
23%
|
28%
|
17.
Are you aware of the Early Childhood
Curriculum guidelines defined by the Women and child development ministry?
Are
you aware of the Early Childhood Curriculum guidelines defined by the Women
and child development ministry?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Yes
|
21%
|
2%
|
No
|
76%
|
34%
|
Never heard of it
|
3%
|
64%
|
18.
Are you aware of the syllabus for standard
one defined by NCERT?
Are
you aware about the syllabus for standard one defined by NCERT?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Yes
|
65%
|
20%
|
No
|
35%
|
80%
|
19.
Do you think according to you the present
kindergarten curriculum in most schools is in sync with the standard one syllabus
defined by NCERT?
Do
you think according to you the present kindergarten curriculum in most
schools is in sync with the standard one syllabus defined by NCERT?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
Yes
|
23%
|
0% (not
aware)
|
No
|
77%
|
0% (not
aware)
|
20.
How is your school’s kindergarten
curriculum/syllabus defined?
How is your school’s kindergarten
curriculum/syllabus defined?
|
||
Principals
and heads of preprimary
|
Parents
|
|
By a curriculum team of teachers
|
38%
|
Don’t
know have never asked
|
Based on standard one curriculum, working
backwards
|
42%
|
Don’t
know have never asked
|
Based on
workbooks from publishers
|
39%
|
Don’t
know have never asked
|
Based on
ECCE curriculum govt of India
|
19%
|
Don’t
know have never asked
|
