-The Indian Express A reworking of curriculum and activities is urgently needed for the age band from four to eight. ASER 2019 report underlines this While the importance of good early childhood education has been known for a long time, the draft New Education Policy (released in June 2019) links the “severe learning crisis” to what goes on with young children in India. The voluminous policy document points out that close...

-The Indian Express According to the recommendation, providing a strong foundation for all-round development and lifelong learning are the two central objectives of preschool education. It also says that the commercialisation of pre schooling is detrimental for children’s motivation to learn. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released its preSchool Curriculum on Monday. Among the recommendations is that preschoolers be taught in their mother tongue or home language....

-Down to Earth Life of a Dongria Kondh tribal offers insights on Indian government’s reckless interventions into the lives of indigenous people When 30-year-old Lakshman Huika returned to his village Manda of Munikhol Panchayat in Muniguda block of Rayagada district in Odisha, he had already seen the life in big cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai. Manda lies deep inside Niyamgiri Hills and is accessible only by foot—at least three hours walk from the...

-The Hindu Skill India needs a sharp realignment if it is to meaningfully transform people’s life chances In 2013, India’s skill agenda got a push when the government introduced the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF). This organises all qualifications according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude, just like classes in general academic education. For instance, level 1 corresponds to Class 9 (because vocational education is only supposed to...

-Hindustan Times A panel has suggested including Indian Sign Language as a subject, offering Braille as a language option and providing various difficulty levels of core subjects for students with special needs as part of curriculum and examination reforms. New Delhi: A panel has suggested including Indian Sign Language as a subject, offering Braille as a language option and providing various difficulty levels of core subjects for students with special needs as...