As the State government embarks on public discussions as part of school curriculum revision, there remain concerns about the lack of a uniform curriculum for preschools and how effectively such a curriculum can be implemented. Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty on Thursday said the government intended to create a uniform curriculum framework for pre-primary education.
Those involved with preschool education say parents’ insistence on children learning to write during preschool itself is worrying. Preschool education, they say, does not mean learning to read and write alone; it has many other components essential for children’s mental, physical, social, and mental development, especially in the crucial period before six years of age.
Even if a curriculum that focusses on play, song dance, acting, drawing, sports, and so on is developed, the social mindset is to get children to begin reading and writing as early as possible to tick the achievement checkbox. Rather than taking a child-centric view with focus on their nature, interests, and aptitude, the start of education is reduced to mere writing by over-anxious parents. The only way out is to create awareness among parents against this unscientific practice, they say.
