-‘Raise in nursery age will act as catalyst for play schools’

http://thestatesman.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic...

21 February 2010

Press Trust of India
New Delhi, 21 FEB: The government's proposal to raise the minimum age for nursery admissions from three to four years in Delhi may have drawn huge appreciation, but experts apprehend the move will act as a catalyst for play school business in the capital.
In Delhi, there are more than 250 play schools, most of which go unchecked as they don't require any government permission to operate. These institutions take in children over the age of two.
Experts believe, if the age limit for nursery schooling is increased, parents will have to keep their wards in the play schools for another year till they are eligible for nursery admission.
This may lead to booming of private institutions offering pre-nursery schooling, says Mr Ashok Ganguly, former chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), who headed a committee that devised the current points system for nursery admission in the national capital.
“Unless the duration of pre-primary schooling is fixed up, you cannot do justice to a child by just increasing the age limit for nursery admission,” Mr Ganguly told PTI.
“We have made it very clear (in Ganguly Committee Report 2006) that there should be one-year of pre-nursery schooling and it has to be made uniform across the board. Otherwise, it is not going to solve the problem,” he said.

“Play schools should be barred from taking children below three years of age,” said Mr Sumit Vohra, who runs a website for parents.
He expressed fear that unless there are proper guidelines, play schools ~ which charge between Rs 30,000 to Rs one lakh for a year ~ would come up with new plans to double up their income.
“It will result in mushrooming of such schools,” he said.

Mr RP Mallik, chairman of Federation of Public Schools in Delhi, also admitted that there was a need to fix the duration of pre-nursery schooling.
He, however, welcomed HRD minister Mr Kapil Sibal's proposal for increasing nursery age-limit, saying it would definitely reduce the stress both on the children and the parents.
Asked whether the move would help the play school business grow, he said, “I don't believe this will happen. But, yes, a child may get two full years in a pre-school if the duration is not fixed.”
There are about 1,900 government and private schools in the capital while over 1,500 schools offer nursery schooling.
During a meeting between parents and school teachers last week, Mr Sibal proposed to increase minimum age for nursery education to four years and formal education to six years in Delhi.
Experts said the age limit for university admissions, which starts from 17 years at present, should also be raised across the country.
According to Mr Ganguly, there has been a gap between the age of a private school child and a child from government school, which does not have pre-primary section.
“The government should also ensure uniformity in age limit in all levels of eduction. There should be a holistic approach and you need to have a minimum level playing situation,” the former CBSE chairman said.
Meanwhile, educationists welcomed Mr Sibal's suggestion, saying increasing of age limit would benefit both parents and children. Mr Meenal Arora, Executive Director of Shemrock Group of Schools, said, “at the age of three, a child needs a lot of assistance and support. The pre-school environment gives him a sense of security and belongingness where the child lets go his inhibitions to learn and be natural.” “A three-year-old does not have enough communication skill and are not even potty-trained. They go through a sense of alienation,” feels Ms Ameeta Mulla Wattal, principal of Springdales school, Pusa Road