Early Childhood Education: A silent victim of Covid-19

Source: The Indian Express

Early childhood, the years from birth to age six, has been medically proven to be the most critical period that sets the stage for a child’s growth and learning trajectory. The emotional and physical health, social skills, and cognitive-linguistic capacities that emerge in the early years are all important prerequisites for success in school and later in the workplace and community.

While every educational institution in India shut down in March 2020 and most moved online to ensure continued learning during the pandemic, we have approximately 165 million children in the 0-5 year’s age group who have lost out on early childhood care and learning as centers dedicated to their development continue to remain closed. Closing schools expose children to multiple risks.

The longer schools are closed, the more children suffer from extensive learning losses with long-term negative impacts, including future income and health. While some pre-school operators across the country shifted to an online format to offer uninterrupted learning, a certain section of parents voiced their concerns about the increase in the time young children would spend in front of a screen and its impact.

Making sure that preschoolers get a high-quality early childhood education, whether online or offline, is the most important priority for parents as it impacts the children's ability to learn, manage their behaviors and get along well with others and also acts as a foundation for success in adult life.

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