The Hindu : Recommendations on early education

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Recommendations on early education

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, FEB.14. A core group has submitted to the State and the Centre recommendations for providing quality early childhood education, according to Mina Swaminathan, an expert in early childhood care and education.

Speaking at a workshop on ECE, organised jointly by the Madurai District Council of the Indian Council for Child Welfare and the Rotary Club of Madurai West here today, she said the group comprising the Tamil Nadu chapter of the Forum for Creche and Child Care Services, the Indian Association for Pre-school Education, the Indian Council for Child Welfare and some of the interested child welfare organisations, studied issues of the ECE and worked out recommendations.

The core group took into consideration the fact that though schools were the places for formal learning, a child started to learn even before its birth. Hence, learning should start right from the stage of conception. Therefore, pregnant women should be well taken care of, she said, adding that age 0-5 years was the most critical and vulnerable period of life, since malnutrition in certain stages of pregnancy would result in chronic diseases in adult life.

Valli Annamalai, joint secretary, ICCW, said early care should facilitate the child to develop to its full potential, be it within the informal framework or in a more formalised institution of a pre-school.

Sometimes overdose of pre-school learning could become detrimental to the overall development of the child, she said, adding that the mushrooming of KG schools had increased the urgency to bring quality ECE.

The objective of the workshop was to evolve a strategy in consensus with the child welfare organisations and the school management for an effective ECE, Ms. Valli Annamalai, said.

The core group was also working on a certificate course on ECE. It would take steps to ensure that only ECE-qualified professionals were involved in pre-school learning in future, she added.

This workshop is part of a pilot project of the ICCW for 156-odd schools in the Madurai district.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu

News Update

Stories in this Section

AIDS awareness may be made mandatory for driving licence

Recommendations on early education

Mattuthavani traders `stand to lose a lot'

AIDS medicine to be distributed free of cost

`5,000 surgeries in GRH every year'

Rly. DRM takes charge

Around The City

In Madurai Today