Aide et Action

Background

While India has made substantial progress in education in terms of enrolment of children into schools, concerns on the poor quality of education is gaining importance. Attaining minimum competencies by children - though many point out inadequacies of such measurement - itself becomes a major challenge with lot of inadequacies in the system there by questioning the quality of teaching learning processes. Thus, while there are host of systemic issues, quality related to in-school processes appear to be one of the solutions that would focus on development of competencies among children.

Non-enrolment and drop out of children from schooling is, to greater extent, linked to the quality of education, though economic factors do play a significant role. Relevance of education to life and livelihoods, child friendly processes and joyful learning environment and commitment and motivation of teachers are some of the significant factors that would attract children to schooling.

Public Report on Basic Education (PROBE, 1999) has identified several aspects related to quality of education infrastructure, which is also critical for learning. For example




Scope AeA visualizes ECCE interventions in two inter linked components. One, to address communities and build awareness on the need for early childhood care through improved care giving practices at home that would enable children to attain growth and development milestones of children from birth to three years. Secondly, to support comprehensive childhood education at childcare centres (Balwadis, Anganwadis etc) for children of 3-5 year age. These two require strategies that are complimentary in nature. Objectives

	To enhance community awareness on care giving practices for the very young child (from birth to three years)
	Address holistic development of young children through quality early child hood care and education (ECCE) practices through centre based interventions, and
	Facilitate conducive policy environment that focuses on childhood care and development.



Goal

	To enhance significantly, learner achievement at the primary level.



Strategies

	Awareness building among communities on child care and child development in all AeA's NGO partner areas through systematic processes
	Build community ownership and responsibilities towards government run child care centres (anganwadis, balwadis etc.)
	Capacitate a cadre of trained professionals in childhood care and education who would engage in running Balwadis (crèches) as self employment in urban and rural areas, and
	Policy advocacy on issues of early childhood care and education with a special focus on universalisation of services by the government.



Focus Areas

	AeA India is currently engaged in developing comprehensive understanding on various issues of ECCE and interventions through systematic study and documentation of practices and experiences of resource agencies. Such a study would inform core areas of intervention and scope of our work in this area
	AeA would engage with partners on the need for quality ECCE interventions and develop organisational capacities in ECCE at the partner level
	AeA would facilitate development of cadre of entrepreneurs (young women) who would be trained systematically in ECCE practices so that they would be able to set up fee based child care centres (Balwadis/crèches) that would cater to the needs of parents in urban slums and in rural areas, and
	AeA would promote and support practitioner networks and think tank on ECCE and address issues of policy advocacy through them



Major Accomplishments in 2007

	57 ECCE centers functional for early child care providing day care facilities and pre primary education
	A total of 1213 children covered under these centers



Advocacy issues undertaken in ECCE

	Comprehensive ECCE policy covering 0-6 years of the children
	Universalization of pre-school services
	Flexible and joyful learning framework in the pre-school education