The
Maharashtra government seems to be sitting on a report that has recommended
reforming pre-primary education centres.
The
report has suggested scrapping of “capitation fee“ and restraining centres from
conducting “screening tests“ during admission. It wants children under the age
of three to be barred from seeking ad mission to pre-primary centres. In 2011,
a 21 member-committee was formed under the leadership of Fauzia Khan the then
minister of state for education to examine issues in pre-primary education. The
report was submitted to the government on July 1, 2012.
Last
week, state education minister Vinod Tawde announced in the legislative council
that a “policy for pre-primary education and legislation“ is under
consideration. There are close to 65 lakh children in the 3 to 6 age group in
Maharashtra.
“Pre-primary
centres have mushroomed all over the state. A child is tested for general
knowledge and made to perform tasks...entrance tests are conducted and fees
charged arbitrarily by the preprimary schools. The processes in admissions are
haphazard as no law exists,“ mentioned the report.
“The
competitive mindset to acquire admission in good schools, compels ambitious and
anxious parents to enrol their children to pre-schools as early as possible, at
times, at the age of two-and-a-half years. At the age of 3-4 schools teach the
syllabus prescribed not only for Class I, but even for Class II for which the children
are neither cognitively nor physically mature,“ observed by the committee.
Education
experts want the government to act on the findings and improve the quality of
primary education.“There is no criteria to appoint teachers for pre-primary
schools,“ said Prashant Redij, spokesperson of Maharashtra State Principals'
Association.
“A law
will help in appointing trained teachers and will control the fee structure. Currently,
pre-primary schools are mushrooming like coaching classes,“ he added.
Source | Times of India | 20 July 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment