Abstract

This section provides a context for the entire set of Research Studies on ECCE, commissioned by Save the Children, India. It presents a review of existing national and international literature on the significance of ECCE, the research evidence supporting its impacts, and various types of ECCE models and programmes from across the globe. Research in the field of Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology and Economics have shown the benefits of holistic care for children in their crucial and sensitive early years for cumulative life-long development. In response to such evidence, several countries have begun to adopt varied models of ECCE programmes, many deriving from dominant Eurocentric approaches towards child development, a few also incorporating locally relevant and contextualised practices of child rearing.

India has notably implemented one of the world’s largest comprehensive ECCE programmes fairly early on, in the 1970s – the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). However, health, nutrition and education- related indicators of child development for 0-6 year olds, though having improved over the years, remain far from satisfactory. Despite the centrally sponsored ICDS scheme having been universalised, around half of India’s under-six population does not participate in any form of pre-primary education. The lack of a regulatory framework for the rapidly expanding private sector, the second largest provider of ECCE, raises matters of concern around quality and equity. There have been several government policies and frameworks reaffirming commitment to developmentally appropriate ECCE services. However, issues of financing, implementation, quality, accessibility and equity remain to be adequately addressed, with there being no legislation for mandatory ECCE provisioning for under-six year olds.

It is against this context that the status report also presents an account of the current status of under-six year olds in India, specifically in the three states of Delhi, Odisha and Telangana, identifying existing provisions as well as gaps and challenges with respect to ECCE. A comparison of the three states shows that trends of health and nutrition indicators and pre-school participation vary widely across states and also when compared to all-India level statistics.

The desk review and secondary data analysis comprised of research papers, reports, evaluations, policy documents, surveys, and other sources of government data. In addition, data was also sourced from various individuals, organisations and institutions engaged in the field of ECCE.

This report is part of a series of four reports about the state of ECCE in India, the collection of which must be read together to make complete sense. For more information refer to the following link.

 

CBPS. (2017, September). Research studies on early childhood care and education (ECCE): status report on implementation and gaps of ECCE in India (with special focus on Delhi, Odisha and Telangana). Bengaluru: Centre for Budget and Policy Studies.