ECCE under the National Education Policy

by Vasudha Arabandi | 27th August, 2024

Education is fundamental to providing equal opportunities, achieving optimal human development, and contributing to national growth. India has one of the youngest populations in the world. Turning this population as an asset is the key to unlocking the country’s potential on both national and global level. Universal access to high-quality education is the most effective strategy for developing and harnessing our nation’s resources to benefit every citizen and the nation at large. 

India is a signatory to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, of which Goal 4, on Quality Education, seeks to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” In order to deliver on its international commitments and also meet its national development goals, India introduced the National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020. 

The vision of the NEP is that “India must have an education system by 2040 that is second to none, with equitable access to the highest-quality education for all learners regardless of social or economic background.” 

The NEP recognizes Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) as the foundation of learning. For the first time in India’s history, it brings the pre-primary stage into the continuum of school education. It recognizes that children particularly from underprivileged backgrounds struggle with lack of access to quality ECCE programs. Therefore, it aims to ensure universal access to high-quality ECCE programs to all children in India.

According to the policy, “ECCE ideally consists of flexible, multi-faceted, multi-level, play-based, activity-based, and inquiry-based learning, comprising of alphabets, languages, numbers, counting, colours, shapes, indoor and outdoor play, puzzles and logical thinking, problem-solving, drawing, painting and other visual art, craft, drama and puppetry, music and movement.” 

Recognizing the potential that India has to improve its ECCE outcomes and that 85% of brain development has already happened by age 6, establishing high quality ECCE programs by 2025 is the top priority under the NEP. In order to achieve this, the NEP outlines three channels for ECCE delivery: standalone and co-located Angwanwadis, Balvatikas and standalone preschools. All of the workers are being trained in ECCE delivery and receive structured pedagogical guidance for the same. It also aims to introduce ECCE in “Ashramshalas” in tribal areas to ensure that access is not limited to only certain sections of the society. 

In order to operationalize NEP, the Ministry of Education has released the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS). In order to bring specific focus on ECCE under the Anganwadi system, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has introduced Aadharshila, the National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education 2024, which addresses the needs of children aged three to six years, and Navchetana, the National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation 2024, which ) focuses on children from birth to three years.