Context

• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has initiated a significant transformation in India’s Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) system by integrating preschool education into formal schooling. This editorial explores three key structural shifts, and the implications for Anganwadis, equity, and child development.

Background

• NEP 2020 marks a paradigm shift in ECCE by integrating preschool education (ages 3-6) into government schools. 
• Previously, this age group was primarily catered to by Anganwadis under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. 
• Private schools already had nursery classes, creating early disparities. The NEP aims to bridge this equity gap by universalising ECCE by 2030. 

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) 

• Refers to the integrated development of children aged 0-6 years through care, health, nutrition, play, and early learning in a safe and enabling environment.
• Early childhood is the most formative period, marked by rapid brain development and foundational learning.

Relevance in the Indian Context

• India has 158.7 million children in the 0-6 age group (Census 2011), requiring urgent focus on holistic early development. 
• India is a signatory to key international frameworks like: Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989
• Education for All (EFA), 1990
• Sustainable Development Goal 4.2, which aims to ensure access to quality early childhood development and pre-primary education by 2030.

Significance

• Early brain development shapes future health, learning, and behaviour.
• Gaps at this stage cause lasting disadvantages. 
• ECCE boosts school readiness and learning outcomes (UNICEF). 
• It's a cost-effective tool to reduce inequality and break the poverty cycle.

Challenges Highlighted

• Institutional Overlap & Migration: With schools now offering Balvatika classes, there is a parental shift away from Anganwadis, risking their relevance.
• Uneven State Implementation: States/UTs vary in budget utilisation under Samagra Shiksha for ECCE. Some have yet to initiate preschool classes.
• Overburdened Anganwadi Workers: Focused more on 3-6 age group present in centres, leaving minimal scope for 0-3-year home visits. 
• Risk of Schoolification: Overemphasis on reading/writing may ignore the essential play-based, holistic development focus in ECCE.
• Implementation Gaps: Despite schemes like POSHAN Abhiyaan and ‘Poshan bhi Padhai bhi’, groundlevel adoption and quality vary. 

Way Forward

• Dual Institutional Reorientation: Schools: Focus on 3–6-year-olds with play-centric, broad-skill learning, avoiding premature literacy pressure. 
• Anganwadis: Shift focus to 0–3 years and maternal care through intensive home visits. 
• Strengthen Ground-level Implementation: Monitor states’ use of Samagra Shiksha ECCE funds. Upskill Anganwadi workers for both care and early learning roles.
• Avoid ‘Schoolification’: Maintain play-based methods and developmentally appropriate practices for pre-schoolers.
• Home-Based Interventions: Leverage models like Perry Preschool and Odisha–Yale–Pratham study to strengthen outreach for 0–3 age group. 
• Integrated Monitoring: Build convergence between Education and WCD Ministries with data-based tracking of ECCE quality and reach.