Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 24, No.

1, 1996

Early Childhood Education in India: History, Trends, Issues,

and Achievements 1

Jyotsna Pattnaik 2'3

The changes in the social and economic structure of India have intensified the need for universal
early childhood education. The formidable challenges before the Indian Government are: to pro-
vide high quality early childhood education programs; to preserve indigenous practices such as
multilinguality, family/community involvement, participation of older children as caretakers of
their younger siblings; and to provide early childhood education to all children despite serious
financial constraints. This article presents a brief overview of the traditional childrearing practices
in India, chronicles government initiatives in early childhood education, describes the range of pro-
grams available in India, and identifies goals that will shape the future of early childhood programs
in India.

KEY WORDS: childrearing practices; early childhood programs; teacher training; international early child-
hood education.

THE VIEW OF THE CHILD IN INDIAN
SOCIETY
Throughout Indian history, children have always
enjoyed a special status in society. In India, childhood is
considered to be a unique and enjoyable period in an
individual's life, so children are pampered by the adults
in the family and in the community. Numerous special
occasions in the community mark the significance of
this developmental period. For example, the whole com-
munity celebrates the birth of a child, a child's first
intake of solid food, the naming ceremony for a child,
and the child's first day of formal education. Informal
learning of young children in a natural environment
through songs, dance, play, and talk are a regular com-
ponent of the childrearing responsibilities of adults and
older children in India. However, the growing demands
'Portions of this article will appear in Isenberg, J.E, & Jalongo, M.R.
(Eds.). (1997, in press). Trends and issues in early childhood:
Challenges, controversies, and insights. New York: Teachers College
Press.
~Faculty, Department of Professional Studies in Education, Indiana
University of Pennsylvania.
3Correspondence should be directed to Jyotsna Pattnaik, Department
of Curriculum and Instruction, Central Missouri State University,
Warrensburg, Missouri 64093.
of a newly industrialized nation have altered many of
the basic childrearing practices in India. The need for
more structured early childhood education programs and
stronger governmental involvement in the education of
young children is rapidly emerging.
HISTORY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION I N I N D I A
Universal early childhood education in India is a
relatively recent development. Throughout the history of
India, formal education was limited to only male mem-
bers of the high caste groups. Mass illiteracy among
children of low caste families and female children has
had a cumulative effect of unequal distribution of educa-
tional opportunities among the population. The con-
scious and systematic attempt to educate children from
all sections of the society began in 1937 with the educa-
tional philosophy of Gandhi. Gandhi's basic education
scheme was designed to set up free and compulsory
education at the national level. Maria Montessori's 1939
visit to India implanted the foundations of preschool
e d u c a t i o n in I n d i a and t e a c h e r s were trained in
Montessori's method of education. Her major books
were translated into many Indian languages. Today,
there are many Montessori preschools in India, and

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1082-3301/96/0900-00l1509.50/09 1996HumanSciencesPress,Inc.
12
some schools in Delhi and Bombay are affiliated with
Montessori International.
Early childhood education has been a constant
focus of all major committees and commissions estab-
lished by the government of post-independent India. In
1953, the Committee on Early Childhood Education rec-
ognized the limitations of leaving total responsibility for
early childhood education with parents and recommend-
ed inclusion of preprimary classes in the existing Indian
p r i m a r y schools. The C o m m i t t e e on Child Care
( 1 9 6 3 - 6 4 ) r e c o m m e n d e d a c o m p l e t e overhaul o f
preschool educational philosophy and principles to
bring programs more into line with the needs of Indian
society. This committee also recommended the introduc-
tion of midday meals in preschool progranas. In 1964,
the Kothari Commission of India recommended the
establishment of state-level pre-primary education cen-
ters. Ten years later, The National Policy on Children
(1974), defined early childhood education as providing
both care and education to all children in India, espe-
cially to those sections of the population where children
are the first-generation school attendees. Early child-
hood education was regarded both as a strengthening
factor for realization of the goals of compulsory primary
education and for the development of human resources
in general (National Policy on Education, 1986).
TRENDS AND ISSUES A F F E C T I N G
EARLY C H I L D H O O D EDUCATION IN
INDIA
The following economic, societal, political, and
educational trends and issues have had a major impact
upon early childhood education in India.
The Enrollment of Women in the Workforce Is
Growing in India. This is not only true for women from
middle and upper middle-class backgrounds who have
white-collar jobs, but also for women from lower class
backgrounds who work as migrant laborers in construc-
tion sites, agricultural laborers, skilled or unskilled
laborers in industrial sectors, maidservants in private
homes, or women engaged in income-generating activi-
ties at home. Because of the unavailability of data on
women working in the private sector, a reliable estimate
of the number of women working in the labor force in
India is not available.
The Extended Family System Is Gradually
Disintegrating. The growing industrialization and conse-
quent change in economic infrastructure has caused the
wage earning members of many families to move to
urban areas in search of employment, leaving part of
their family back in their rural homes. Therefore, the
Pattnaik
traditional role of the extended family members to pro-
vide care and informal education to young children is
diminished by distance.
Early Childhood Education Enables the Caregiver,
Usually an Older Girl Sibling, to Attend School. Early
childhood programs, therefore, have the potential not
only to reduce the dropout rate among girls but also to
make universal, compulsory primary education a reality
(Kanl, 1992).
Both Basic and Educational Needs of Young
Children Can Be Addressed Through Early Childhood
Education. The young child involved in early childhood
programs receives improved health care, better nutrition,
as well as opportunities to master school-related skills,
engage in constructive play, and grow in social compe-
tence (Kaul, 1992). Early childhood education also eas-
es the transition from home to school, fostering in both
parents and children a more positive attitude toward
education and formal schooling.
Two powerful influences have contributed to the
development of early childhood education in India.
First, various women's groups, labor unions, religious
groups, and political parties who demand greater justice
for women and children have influenced the government
to emphasize early childhood education in India. One
result of these collaborative efforts is that women
employees in India have been receiving a 3-month
maternity leave with full salary.
Second, the early childhood education movement
at the international level has also influenced research
and policy issues. Many innovative research projects
and pilot programs have been initiated by major agen-
cies in India. For example, the National Council of
Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has
launched the Children's Media Laboratory Project in ten
states of India with funding from UNICEF. The learning
materials (print and nonprint) produced by the laborato-
ry in different languages are distributed free of cost to
all early childhood centers and organizations in the
country.
E M E R G I N G EDUCATIONAL
EXPANSION TO INCLUDE ALL
CHILDREN
In 1993, the "Program of Action" report of the
Ministry of Human Resource Development in India
identified certain groups as major target groups for
expansion of early childhood education in India. These
groups include young children:
9 who reside in very low-income urban communi-
ties
Early Childhood Education in India
9 who live in ecologically depressed areas (rural
areas and artisan households) where they are
required to participate in agricultural and house-
hold chores
9 who are the offspring of itinerant, seasonal, or
construction laborers
9 who b e l o n g to tribal communities or live in
remote areas
9 who have special needs or physical disabilities
(Ministry of Human Resource Development,
1993)
The effort of the government at present is concen-
trated on reaching these children and designing curricula
that will meet their needs.
P R O G R A M S AVAILABLE IN INDIA
There are a variety of federal, voluntary, and pri-
vate program s serving children birth through age eight.
Programs Run by the Government. Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS) is India's national pro-
gram to serve children b e t w e e n 0 - 6 years
(Muralidharan, 1992). In fact, it is the largest child-
development program in the world serving approximate-
ly 16 million children a year (Young, 1996). ICDS ser-
vices are operated through a network of Aganwadis
(courtyards) and are "supported by the World Food
Program, CARE, UNICEF, the E u r o p e a n Union,
USAID, and the World Bank" (Young, 1996, p. 73).
ICDS services combine both care and education and are
based on four comprehensive objectives. These include:
9 to provide quality health and nutritional services
to pregnant and lactating mothers
9 to enhance physical and social development of
children, birth through age six
9 to facilitate coordination between various depart-
ments involved in policy making and implementa-
tion of early childhood education
9 to provide health and nutrition education to moth-
ers of targeted groups of children
In order to meet these objectives, the ICDS pro-
grams provide a variety of services, such as: supplemen-
tary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral
~ervices, treatment of minor illness, nutrition and health
education, and preschool education.
Three levels of personnel are involved in ICDS
9rograms. These include:
Aganwadi or courtyard workers (for preschool and
:reche programs), supervisors, and project officers.
Fraining of the ICDS personnel is conducted by various
voluntary and government agencies throughout the
zountry.
13
Programs Run by Voluntary Organizations. Many
voluntary organizations assisted by the government
agencies are actively involved in India in the field of
early childhood education. The voluntary agencies work
primarily with special groups like tribal people, migrant
laborers, and rural children in specific contexts. For
example, with the assistance of The Central Social
Board, voluntary organizations run creches for children
(0-5 age group) of working and ailing mothers that pro-
vide health care, supplementary nutrition and sleeping,
play, and r e c r e a t i o n facilities. The 1970 L a b o r
Regulation and Abolition Act specified a creche within
50 meters of every w o r k p l a c e where women are
employed as contract labor.
Another kind of program run by the voluntary
organizations is the mobile creche, which started in
1969 in Delhi to serve the children of migrant laborers
in Delhi. At present, mobile creches are available in
major cities of Delhi; Bombay, and Pune. They operate
at one construction site unti! the construction is com-
pleted and then move to other construction sites along
with the workers. The staff is provided on-site training,
which is considered more appropriate to the situation.
Families are charged a very nominal fee within the reach
of the parents at the lowest income levels.
Programs Run by Private Institutions, These pro-
grams are supported by high tuition fees from students.
The preprimary schools in private sectors serve mostly
as feeder schools to the primary schools. Therefore, the
curriculum is more academically oriented. Moreover,
the demand and competition in the formal schools also
is a contributing factor in the growing academic orienta-
tion in preprimary schools in private sectors. The lan-
guage of instruction in some schools is Hindi (the
national language), in others one of many different state
languages or in still others, English. Instruction in
English is demanded by the parents because of the
demand of the English language in higher education and
in the job market. Private programs available in India
include:
9 Parochial schools operated by various religious
groups. These programs charge tuition fees depending
upon the income of parents. Catholic schools in major
Indian cities are very competitive and serve mostly mid-
dle and upper-middle class groups. Some hold afternoon
classes for poor children, both Christian and non-
Christian. Children are required to wear uniforms. The
teacher-to-child ratio in a class is around 1:35.
9 Preschools run by private sector companies for
the employees. These preschools are attached to the pri-
mary section of a school. They are well funded with
available resource materials. Teachers are well qualified.
14
Curriculum may be academically-oriented or child-cen-
tered depending upon the school's leadership and the
parental demand.
9 Schools owned by residential communities.
Enrollment in these schools is based on the residency
status of the family as well as performance on an
entrance examination. These schools are considered
very prestigious in the community.
9 Laboratory nursery schools attached to universi-
ties. Another category of private schools in India is the
laboratory school. The curriculum in these schools is
well-designed and carefully monitored.
TEACHER TRAINING
Training of teachers varies according to the nature
of the programs. ICDS programs train all three levels of
personnel involved in its programs.
Training of Aganwadi Teachers. Aganwadi teach-
ers, both for preschool and creche programs, are drawn
from the local communities. The minimum academic
qualification for an Aganwadi teacher is the successful
completion of the eighth grade. A comprehensive manu-
al is published by the National Council of Public
Cooperation and Child Development for training of
preschool workers. Usually the training course for the
preschool programs is residential. The preschool train-
ing runs for 3 months and includes preschool education,
nutrition, health education, child development, commu-
nication, and population education. Creche workers are
comparable to the teaching aides. Girls between 16-25
are recruited by Early Childhood Education in India
from the community for the creche programs and are
given on-the-spot training for 1 month. The training of
creche workers includes health education, nutrition and
educational care, craft, language, accounts and adminis-
tration, and sociopolitical awareness. Trainees are pro-
vided hospital experience to become knowledgeable
about child care, and maternal care, both prenatal and
postnatal. The course is supplemented with seminars
and workshops on creche management and early child-
hood education.
Training of Supervisors. The supervisors serve as
resource persons for the ICDS programs. They are
trained to supervise the Aganwadis, provide on-the-job
guidance and continuing education to the Aganwadi
workers, and promote community participation.
Training of Project Officers. The child development
project officers undergo an 8-week training in project
management (planning, initiation, and implementation
of the project) including preschool education,
health/nutrition, and c o m m u n i t y participation.
Pattnaik
Supervisors and project officers may or may not have
prior teaching experiences.
Teacher Training Institutions. Some teacher train-
ing institutions in India offer a specialized diploma in
nursery school teaching. The trainees are required to
have attended college for 2 years. Many college gradu-
ates with bachelor degrees are also enrolled in these
courses. The duration of the diploma certification course
is 1 year.
There is also an integrated 2-year program that pre-
pares teachers for preschool and primary teaching (3- to
8-year-old children). The 2-year course is offered main-
ly in the teacher-training institutes in Delhi which
serves as the curriculum model for other institutions.
This integrated training program is separate from the
primary teacher training program offered in many
teacher training institutions throughout the country
which prepares teachers for grades 1 through 5. In new-
ly opened home-science (equivalent to home-econom-
ics) colleges, early childhood education has become an
integral component (Verma, 1995).
All early childhood education programs run by the
government are evaluated regularly and unlike many
program evaluations conducted in the United States,
qualitative methods of evaluation rather than quantita-
tive methods are generally emphasized. For example,
the supervisors and project officers in ICDS programs
conduct on-site evaluation of the Aganwadi programs.
National agencies are also involved in the program eval-
uation (National Institute of Public Cooperation and
Child Development, 1992). The program evaluation of
ICDS programs include many different aspects of the
program delivery as well as the program's long-term and
short-term impact on children enrolled into the program.
Young (1996) reported studies on nutritional impact,
infant mortality rates in ICDS areas, primary school
enrollment of ICDS children, and school drop-out rates
among ICDS children. Nath and Ray (1993) also report-
ed qualitative studies on community participation mod-
els operated in ICDS programs.
THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION IN
GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
Because of multilinguality in India, selecting a lan-
guage for teaching poses a challenge to teachers of early
childhood and primary schools. This problem is acute in
metropolitan areas and various strategies have been
implemented to address the issue. In some schools, chil-
dren are taught in their home language for some activi-
ties and for other activities, they are taught together
through a common language (either the state or the
Early Childhood Education in India
national language). In other schools, the building is
divided into different language medium areas under the
leadership of one administrator (e.g., English-medium
wing, Hindi-medium wing, Gujarati-medium wing). The
teachers are generally fluent in several of the languages.
In rural areas, teaching during the early childhood years
is usually conducted through the state language.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN
INDIA: RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS
In spite of the financial constraints India faces,
advances in Indian early childhood education are evi-
dent. They include:
1. Providing Developmentally Appropriate
Education in Early Years. India's National Policy on
Education (1986) has taken a strong stand on develop-
mentally appropriate practices and child-centered pro-
grams. The d o c u m e n t states: " E a r l y C h i l d h o o d
Education and Care (ECCE) will be child-oriented,
focused around play, and individually-oriented. Formal
methods and introduction of the three Rs will be dis-
couraged at this stage. The local community will be ful-
ly involved in these programs" (p. 10).
2. Integrating Children with Special Needs in the
Regular Classrooms. India is also an advocate of inclu-
sion. The "Integrated Education" plan for the disabled is
coordinated and implemented by the National Council
of Educational Research and Training. Under this plan,
children with special needs are integrated into regular
classrooms. Institutions for children with special needs
have been established at the national level, but these
facilities and services have not yet reached the rural
population.
3. Combining Western Models of Early Childhood
Education with Indigenous Practices. Some Western
educational philosophies have had a widespread influ-
ence on early childhood education in India, such as
Montessofi, Piaget, and Froebel. A concentrated effort is
being made by the government to release education in
preprimary years from the tyranny of the three Rs. The
curriculum in early childhood education is constantly
revised to better meet children's needs. Songs, games,
and stories from local cultures are included in the early
childhood curriculum. Materials to be used for early
childhood classrooms are indigenously prepared and
care is taken to maintain their appropriateness to the cul-
tural values. Following her visit of an Aganwadi center
in India, French (1992) reported that Indian educators
typically use natural resources, such as leaves and
stones, to teach various mathematical concepts. She also
remarked on the overall child-centeredness of the cur-
15
riculum amidst visible resource constraints.
4. Encouraging Community Participation. A recent
report shows that 55% of women, 47% of community
leaders, and 33% of adolescent girls were involved in
Aganwadi activities (National Institute of Public
Cooperation and Child Development, 1992). The rate of
participation by rural and tribal communities in educa-
tion was found to be even higher than that of communi-
ties in urban settings.
5. Conducting Program Evaluation Through Case
Study Methods. Case study methods are the preferred
means of evaluating various program components of the
ICDS programs. Nath and Ray (1993) reported that a
case study approach was used to evaluate the communi-
ty participation models of Garden Reach (urban) ICDS
project in Calcutta under which 87 Aganwadis were in
operation.
6. Implementing Innovative Projects. The National
Council of Educational Research and Training has suc-
cessfully implemented some innovative alternative pro-
jects in early childhood education. These include:
9 Child-to-child programs. These programs are
based in government primary schools, where older chil-
dren are trained in the basic skills of health and hygiene,
nutrition, and child stimulation through activities such
as games and songs. Older students then practice these
skills with their younger siblings at home as well as
younger children at school. This program is consistent
with the view that older children have a role to play as
caretakers of their younger siblings, a practice highly
valued by the culture.
9 School-readiness program. This 6- to 8-week pro-
gram is designed for areas of the c o u n t r y where
preschool facilities are unavailable. The school readi-
ness program comes in a kit which includes a package
of activities to be conducted in the summer before the
child starts first grade or in the beginning of the first
grade.
9 Home-based programs. Home-based programs
have been d e v e l o p e d by the National Council of
Educational Research and Training for urban and tribal
children. The objective of these programs is to develop
mothers' skills in the care and education of their own
children. Community workers are selected to train and
to evaluate the mother's progress.
A LOOK AHEAD
Providing high-quality education to all the nation's
children is a r e s p o n s i b i l i t y shared by the State
Governments and the Union Governments of India. This
collaboration has brought a noticeable change in plan-
16
ning, monitoring, and funding o f the early childhood
programs. Action has been taken at the national level to
make the programs child-centered, context-oriented, and
responsive to the needs of individuals and groups.
In the future, early childhood education in India
faces three important challenges: to educate all of the
nation's Young children, to elevate the professional sta-
tus of early c h i l d h o o d educators (strengthening early
childhood teacher preparation, hiring well-qualified
teachers, increasing salaries for early childhood teach-
ers), and to preserve the long-revered cultural tradition
of community involvement in children's informal learn-
ing. If implemented successfully, these goals will prove
to be new milestones in the history of Indian education.
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Bhavnagri, N. P. (1995). An Interview with Professor Amita Verma: A
leader in Early Childhood Education in India. Childhood
Pattnaik
Education, 71(3), 156-160.
French, S. (1992). A study tour to India. International Journal of
Early Childhood Education, 24(1), 68-72.
Kaul, V. (1992). Early childhood education in India. In G. A. Woodill,
J. Bernhard, and L. Prochner. (Eds.), International handbook of
early childhood education (pp. 275-292). New York: Garland
Publishing.
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India
(1986). National policy on education. New Delhi, India: The
Department of Education.
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India
(1993). Education for all: The Indian scene. New Delhi, India:
The Department of Education.
Muralidharan, R. (1992). Training of personnel for Programs in early
childhood care and education' in India. International Journal of
Early Childhood Education, 24(2), 35-40.
Nath, N., & Ray, S. (1993). Community participation in ICDS: A case
study of Garden Reach, Calcutta. New Delhi, India: National
Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development.
National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development,New
Delhi, India (1992). National evaluation of "Integrated Child
Development Services." New Delhi, India: Author.
Young, M. E. (1996). Early Child Development: Investing in the
future. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.