Many children at risk of not reaching their developmental potential

The National Education Policy 2020 addresses the learning crisis in India, stating, “Various governmental, as well as non-governmental surveys, indicate that we are currently in a learning crisis: a large proportion of students currently in elementary school - estimated to be over 5 crore in number - have not attained foundational literacy and numeracy, i.e., the ability to read and comprehend basic text and the ability to carry out basic addition and subtraction with Indian numerals."

Access to pre-primary education seems to be a lottery, dependent on where a child is born. Out of the 240 million children in India aged between 0-8 years, 74%, i.e; 178 million live in rural areas. Millions of children in both urban and rural pockets are at risk of not reaching their full potential because of inadequate nutrition, a lack of early stimulation, learning, and nurturing care, and exposure to stress. UNICEF data shows that over 43 % of children under the age of five are at risk of not fulfilling their full developmental potential.

Let’s debate this in terms of immediate and long term concerns.

Immediate concerns

a. Proficiency of children: 

The ASER 2018 report highlighted that 65 percent of Class V children in private schools in rural India could read a Class II level text, while only 44 percent of children in government schools could do so - a difference of 21 percentage points. This is grave considering that more than 60% of all Indian children in the age group of 6-14 are enrolled in government schools and only about 30% are enrolled in private schools.

Foundational literacy and numeracy are a way to interact with the world. The first 8 years of a child’s life are critical, as the rate of development is most rapid in that period. The foundations for success at school and later in life will be in place.

b. Availability of teachers: 

One of the challenges facing India’s state Governments is to prepare teachers for pre-primary education. One in 6 elementary teachers in India is not trained. The New Education Policy outlines many arguments; the most important of which is that currently India spends only 3% of its GDP on education and ranks 62nd in total public expenditure on education per student.

Pre-school programmes in India are known by different nomenclatures i.e. Anganwadis, Balwadis, nursery school, pre-school, preparatory classes, kindergarten, lower kindergarten (LKG), upper kindergarten (UKG), play centres, crèches, Balvatikas etc. Training teachers at these centers to impart foundational literacy is one of the primary infrastructural pain points in India.

2. Long-term concerns

Building earning potential: A poor start in life can lead to inadequate learning, resulting in low adult earnings as well as social tensions. Because of this shaky start, the affected people are estimated to lose about a quarter of their average yearly income, while their country may lose up to twice their current GDP expenditure on health and education. These consequences impact not only the present but also future generations.

A healthier population: Quality early childhood programs that incorporate health and nutrition help to ensure attendance in the short term and prevent chronic disease in the long term. Findings reveal substantially better health in the mid-30s with a lower prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. A healthier population that spends lesser on medical illness will be able to spend more on empowering its dependent population by making the right choices.

The consequences of not investing in ECCE are varied and far-reaching. To break this cycle of inadequate early education and children not reaching their full developmental potential, we need effective interventions across all levels of the Indian educational system.

Fortunately for India’s children, NEP 2020 talks about the primacy of ECCE - placing early learning at the fulcrum of education. Square Panda has been fortunate enough to work on government projects in Chhattisgarh, Chitrakoot, Sitapur and with the MCGM in Mumbai. We have focussed on the entire gamut from teacher training to delivering our foundational literacy and numeracy program. The program captures the learning outcomes of each child individually and our curriculum is curated by over 82 researchers across the world, comprising minds from Stanford and the University of California.

James Heckman, a Nobel Laureate in Economics had rightly shared that each additional dollar invested in quality early childhood programs yields a return of between $6 dollars and $17 dollars. That multiple- is India’s children being given the opportunity to reach their potential.

This article is written by Ashish Jhalani, Global CMO & Managing Director, Square Panda India.