Education in early age underlined

BHUBANESWAR: Ignoring the early six years of a child’s life in terms of education can be damaging for the child’s future.Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) focuses on these aspects.Under the Right of the Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, zero to six years of age does not come under the ambit of compulsory education.Only children in six to 14 years of age have the right to free and compulsory education under the Act.This has led to neglect of the children by the governments in their nascent years.These issues were discussed in a national seminar on ‘Quality Dimensions of Early Childhood Care and Education: Concerns and Issues’ organised by the Regional Institute of Education here.U N Dash, resource person, said it is not necessary to focus on academics during the developing years of the child.They can be taught in a learning-friendly and supportive environment through story telling, dance, games and nature observations.Though the Odisha Government has a huge network of anganwadi centres that deal with children in the age group of zero to six, implementation has not been up to the mark.“If the State government could raise more funds and invest them in education and healthcare, then these children could benefit greatly,” explained Dash.Around 100 participants comprising teacher educators, professors, academicians and PhD students participated in the seminar.They had come from Kerala, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.