Govt to launch national curriculum for early childhood care soon

New Delhi: The ministry of women and child development on Monday said that it will launch a National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for children from three to six years as well as a National Framework for early childhood stimulation for children from birth to three years.

The activities and modules of the Curriculum and the Framework will be imparted to children across all the anganwadi centres in the country, which number more than 13 lakh. National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) will lead the training of both the Anganwadi functionaries on the new Curriculum and Framework

For children from age three to six, the National Curriculum for ECCE 2024 will cover all areas of development as per the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage 2022 (NCF-FS), including physical or motor, cognitive, language and literacy, socioemotional, cultural or aesthetic as well as positive habits. The curriculum will be structured to provide a weekly calendar spanning 36 weeks of active learning, 8 weeks of reinforcement and 4 weeks of initiation, together with 5+1 days of play-based learning in one week, and three blocks of activities in one day.

“As 85 per cent of brain development occurs before the age of six years, the Ministry recognizes the pivotal role of early years in development and seeks to strengthen India's Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) landscape,” the ministry said in a release.

The Curriculum, the ministry said, aims to improve the quality of ECCE transacted at the Anganwadi Centre and will prepare children for primary school. Activities ascribed by the Curriculum including in-centre and at-home activities, including indoor and outdoor as well as child-led and educator-led activities. Assessment tools in the anganwadi centres will track the progress.

For children from birth to three years, the National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation 2024 will equip caregivers such as anganwadi workers with a basic understanding of how children grow and develop, the importance of brain development and the need for nurturing care. “ It focuses on the principles of serve and return, caregiver’s three acts: love, talk, play, and positive guidance. 36 month-wise age-based activities are provided that can be conducted both within the household as well as at the Anganwadi Centre or Creche, through all the contact points including home visits, monthly meetings, community-based events etc. Screening, inclusion and referrals for Divyang children are also provided special focus,” the ministry said.

NIPCCD will design the material with the help of an internal committee and development partners; feedback from Anganwadi Workers will be incorporated, the ministry said.