New Delhi: Vision of five-year olds who can recite tables from 1 to 25, write words with matra and rattle off counting from 1 to 1,000 can be deeply unsettling. But countless pre-primary schools across the country are doing just that, with parents more than happy with the “learning process”. A recent research study on early childhood education found private pre-primary schools in Andhra Pradesh followed a curriculum that included tables up to 25, counting up to 1,000, arithmetic skills, grammar, words and cursive writing.
Even more disturbing was the fact that children were held back from Class I till they were proficient in these skills. Similar was the case in Rajasthan, the study found.
Researchers from Ambedkar University’s Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED) visited 40 private pre-primary schools in Medak and Ranga Reddy districts in Andhra Pradesh and Dungarpur, Banswara and Alwar district in Rajasthan. They found an uncanny similarity in curriculum and parents’ obsession with English language and learning.
CECED research associate Shubhi Sachdeva, who conducted the study, said, “We saw children doing sums, even reciting 17 times table. They had notebooks for homework and were doing sums, grammar related work and knew Varnamala.” Co-researcher Aparajita Bhargarh said sending children to a private pre-primary school was a status symbol and parents were undeterred when schools were as far as 12 km away. Researchers visited predominantly rural areas.
The study, supported by Unicef, also found greater participation of the community in state-run programmes that resulted in better quality of early child education and anganwadi centres. On the other hand, in Rajasthan children rarely went to anganwadis, and functioned more as centres for delivery of supplementary nutrition.
In a related study by education initiative, Galli Galli Sim Sim, it was found that there was an overwhelming gap between the parents’ perception of a school’s role and outcomes.
GGSS’s Ameena Batada said over 70% of parents have inappropriate expectations for children by the time they enter Class I and only about 60% value social skills. “It is important to understand parents’ expectations of their children and of education in order to address misconceptions, and ultimately promote home and school environments that are appropriate for learning at a young age.”
The research comes at a time when the government has set up a core committee to establish standards for early childhood care and education. At present, early education is part of the ICDS programme with a negligible budget.
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