The largest child care program in the world, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), is a powerful testament to our nation’s commitment to children and their development. Spanning each region in India, Anganwadi centres aim to reach children across rural areas and marginalised and disadvantaged sections of society. There are 1.36 million functional Anganwadi centres and over 25 lakh Anganwadi workers and helpers across the country. 

While initially conceptualised to address malnutrition problems and provide nutrition to young children and mothers, the Anganwadis have now evolved to include intersectoral collaboration between health and education. At present, these centres focus on food, nutrition, and early childhood education equally.

Why The Focus On Early Childhood Education?

A young child’s brain sees the highest period of brain development in the early years; if this development is not nurtured in a supportive environment, their growth can falter, causing irreparable damage and lifelong repercussions.

While recognising the important role of nutrition and food in the growth and development of children, our policymakers kept in mind the nature of ECCE, which involves a holistic intervention that covers health, nutrition, and foundational learning (including psycho-social and emotional needs).

As the primary care providers for a majority of the population — out of the 240 million children in India aged between 0-8 years, 74%, i.e., 178 million live in rural areas — Anganwadi workers truly are at the frontlines of early development.

These warriors have already proven their mettle while impacting nutrition across India. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) calls them instrumental to child development for the role they play in fighting malnutrition.

The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recognises the immense reach and potential of these centres. The guidelines now require Anganwadi workers to impart pre-primary education to their charges, thus turning them into early years’ educators.

While a visionary thought, certain challenges impede a swift transition for the workers: adequate knowledge of ECCE, qualification and training dedicated to early childhood education, structured curriculum and resources, and an understanding of 21^st century skills and methodology.

Journey From Anganwadi Workers To Anganwadi Educators

As leaders in the early education space, we at Square Panda India believe we need a three-pronged approach to empower Anganwadis as the NEP 2020 envisions:

• Training And Skills Development: Anganwadi workers will need to be skilled in the pedagogy of today’s changing world, including adapting to a teaching-learning methodology that is more hands-on, experiential, and play-based. The main objective of this training should empower Anganwadi workers with knowledge of ECCE, including the neuroscience behind early learning, an understanding of various early childhood education schemes, and a well-rounded understanding of nutrition and how it affects learning and the young mind.

• Build An Early Learning Ecosystem: An early learning ecosystem cannot exist without the support of each of the early childhood education stakeholders – parents, pre-primary and primary teachers, principals, Anganwadi workers, administrators, and other early years’ educators. To create a nurturing environment for children, we need to combine the efforts of each of these stakeholders and build an early learning community to share knowledge and information, taking our early learning landscape to new heights.

• Hand-holding And Support: To ensure seamless transition from Anganwadi workers to Anganwadi educators, they  need to be supported by a network of resources that are easily available at their disposal. Technology and digital tools can be leveraged for a more comprehensive approach to reduce the Anganwadi workers’ burden. 

India has left its mark on the world and the early childhood development sector with the ICDS scheme. The Anganwadis have the power to break the vicious cycle of undereducation, and holistically develop children’s minds and health equally. All that is needed is our support, investment, and an enabling environment.

Square Panda India’s Anganwadi Workers Upskilling Program aims to empower Anganwadi workers, transforming these centres to their fullest potential for children’s holistic development. Learn more about our programs here.

Early experiences during the period of rapid brain growth until the child is eight can influence future learning, health, and behaviour. Studies conducted by the Harvard Centre for the Developing Child show us that a child’s brain makes one million new neural connections per second in the early years. Subsequently, children deprived of developmentally appropriate stimulus in these early years are at risk of lagging behind their peers.

Given the widespread agreement in research and education literature that discovery-based methods could be more effective in academic and cognitive development, play-based pedagogy is a powerful mechanism to support early learning. Numerous researchers agree that learning through play builds a foundation for creativity, intellectual growth, and problem-solving ability in children.

*Why is play-based learning so important? Read this article to find out.

The importance of play-based learning has been recognised by the New Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, which outlines an educational transformation based on the principles of a play-based approach to early childhood education.

However, simply sending children off to play will not culminate in them acquiring essential foundational skills. Facilitators are needed at each level of the early education landscape, from administrators, to teachers, and parents, if we are to insert effective play-based instruction into daily activities.

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY-BASED LEARNING

A quick glimpse at how play-based learning strengthens many areas of a child’s development:

WHAT SKILLS DOES PLAY-BASED LEARNING DEVELOP?

Much of the early learning programs developed by experts include experiential forms of learning, including play-based instruction. 

For instance, Square Panda India uses our expertise in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) to design a curriculum that strategically embeds play into our learning system. Our program weaves in gamification and storytelling as a part of our experience-based learning model, ensuring children are constantly engaged and enjoying their learning.

These play-based activities and learning games expose children to a new skill:

HOW CHILDREN LEARN THROUGH PLAY

By his own admission, Albert Einstein’s introduction to scientific inquiry came about accidentally, with play. This pivotal event occurred when he was just four or five years of age, stuck in bed due to an illness. Seeing his boredom, his father handed him a magnetic compass to play with, and Einstein spent hours twirling the compass this way and that, wondering why the needle kept pointing north. This experience left a lasting impact on his mind, leading him to believe that a greater truth was hidden behind everything.

“Play is a powerful instrument to guide knowledge and education, and is, in fact, the key to learning. We’ve seen the research, and have found through our own expertise and case studies, that play-based instruction enriches the early education experience while reinforcing essential skills like literacy and numeracy, inquiry, expression, creativity, experimentation, and teamwork.”

– Ashish Jhalani, MD, Square Panda India

Young children learn differently from adults, taking inspiration from pretense and their imagination. Play brings together the logical and creative parts of their brain. Children tap into various skills as they play, creating an outlet for stress and anxiety at the same time. They begin to communicate ideas, develop a foundation for literacy and math, understand vocabulary, learn about actions and consequences, build deeper understandings about social relations, and recognise how their initiative influences decisions and self-choice. Researchers have even found that play helps children regulate their own emotions, helping them think before they act. Their experience with play-based learning helps children become thriving adults capable of living in any range of personal and professional environments.

 “The heart (human values and ethics), the head (our minds), and the hand (our bodies), can be holistically balanced with play and activities”

Says early years’ author, educator, teacher trainer, and content developer, Sonia Relia

*Watch her educational series with Square Panda India, called Square Panda Thursdays, here.

The education space is evolving; early childhood educators, Anganwadi workers, and adults responsible for imparting education must strive to create a play-friendly learning atmosphere with an appropriate balance of play and academics to reach young learners naturally. This is the best way to bring tangible results to children’s growth. 

See how Square Panda India is helping ensure that today’s young minds become tomorrow’s visionaries: ecce.squarepanda.in

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We at Square Panda India have always believed that high quality early childhood education paves the way to future success, turning early learners into productive citizens that directly impact national growth. With this in mind, we partnered with Times Network’s India Economic Conclave (IEC), held on March 25th and 26th in New Delhi to highlight the latest and greatest advances in education.

Here are some highlights from this momentous event:

SPEAKERS FROM SQUARE PANDA

1. Ashish Jhalani, Square Panda India – Managing Director
2. Andre Agassi, Tennis Legend, Chairman & Founder – The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, Chairman of the Board – Square Panda

GALLERY OF EVENT PHOTOS

TOP TWEETS

“Education is what takes a person, nation and economy to greater levels. It is the very backbone that supports growth and prosperity,” states Ramesh Pokhriyal, Minister of Education #IEC2021. @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Q6waSZJ8kP

— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) March 26, 2021

“The pandemic has not just caused loss of 1 year of learning for the children but also several years of social development,” says Ashish Jhalani (CMO Global), Square Panda (USA) & MD, Square Panda India #IEC2021. @IDFCFIRSTBank@squarepanda_edu @tanvishukla pic.twitter.com/RzXI5MTVAb

— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) March 26, 2021

“Without education, there’s no choice. No choice means they go in a downward spiral. And so, I took a 40 million mortgage and opened a school in Las Vegas. Because kids aren’t failing. We’re failing them.” @andreagassi at #IEC2021, speaking about his passion for education.#ECCE pic.twitter.com/UJ8EHhkojW

— Square Panda India (@squarepanda_edu) March 26, 2021

He added, “My request to the government is to involve innovative, research-based private players early on so that our nation can execute the NEP rapidly.”

— Square Panda India (@squarepanda_edu) March 26, 2021

“The challenges that exist are daunting. We need to educate teachers too, it’s important. The most efficient way of reaching kids is investing in early childhood. It offers the greatest social return on capital.”

— Square Panda India (@squarepanda_edu) March 26, 2021

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM IEC 2021

Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal: The Union Education Minister of India, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, took centre stage and delved deeper into his passion for learning and education. Echoing the ideas and growth put forth by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Dr. Pokhriyal reiterated the need for inclusive education at all levels across India. This was only possible with the alignment of each stakeholder in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) ecosystem, namely educators, parents, early learners, Anganwadi workers, and administrators. 

He also underlined the importance of imparting education in one of our many mother tongues and regional languages, with multilingualism given its due. The Minister elaborated on the importance of native-language instruction, and expressed a desire to make India a hub of global education, just as it was centuries ago.

Ashish Jhalani: The Square Panda India MD discussed the importance of ‘Investing in Education’ with Sampark Foundation’s Founder, Mr. Vineet Nayar. Read a synopsis of their talk here.

Andre Agassi: The closing address at the IEC was delivered by world-famous tennis legend, educational facilitator, and Square Panda’s Chairman of the Board. Citing his lack of education and thereby, lack of choice, as the inspiration behind his educational efforts, Andre believes the world is failing children at the moment. Building 125+ charter schools across the United States has made a substantial impact, but there are multiple roadblocks to overcome, a challenge compounded by the lack of innovation across this segment.

Remarking on the need to innovate across the education spectrum, he said, “You bring someone from the past, someone who lived 200 years ago, and walk them into an airport, a train station, or a hospital, and they won’t be able to recognise these places. You walk them into a school, and they won’t have even a moment of confusion. Education is the only industry that has remained stagnant and without innovation for 200 years.”

In keeping the recurrent theme brought up across multiple discourses that evening, Andre pointed out the myriad benefits of public-private partnerships in education, including access to resources philanthropy cannot always provide, and an ability to innovate at scale. 

At Square Panda India, we recognise the crucial need to empower educators and Anganwadi workers if they are to have a better impact on early learning outcomes. This was a sentiment echoed by Andre during his near hour long deliberation. 

Pondering the road ahead, he noted that, “The challenges that exist are daunting. We need to educate teachers too, it’s important; and the most efficient way of reaching kids is by investing in early childhood. It offers the greatest social return on capital.”

A quick Q&A session with an eager audience later, Andre signed off, and with that the curtains came down on another thought-provoking edition of the India Economic Conclave.

Watch Andre’s speech here:

Square Panda India was honoured and energised by the presence of leaders from across industry, government, academia, and civil society, and only served to reaffirm our commitment to take the entire early learning ecosystem to greater heights.

Learn more about Square Panda India, our mission and goals, and how we envision transforming education for millions of children, educators, and Anganwadi workers, here.

Square Panda India has always been a big believer in the power of education, particularly early education. To further our cause of reimagining the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) landscape in India, we partnered with Times Network’s India Economic Conclave 2021 to Reform, Perform, and Transform India’s growth. The sessions were aired live across the Times Network on March 25th and 26th.

Day 2 of this thought-provoking conclave featured an illuminating opening discussion on education by the Minister of education himself, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, following which Ashish Jhalani (Managing Director, Square Panda India), took centre stage to deliberate ‘Investing in Education’, with Vineet Nayar, the Founder of Sampark Foundation.

“With the pandemic causing a catastrophic learning loss (young children have fallen behind by almost a year), the fact that these children have also seen a worrying lack of development, particularly social development, showed our need to invest in digital education”, said Mr. Jhalani. He added that access to such tools could offset some of the learning deficit, and bring children back to schools, fully prepared to restart their education. 

Mr. Nayar opined that India needs disruptive, inclusive innovation right now and reiterated the need to transform the social sector around education. He drew attention to key concerns about what children remember when they start school again, whether they will have an interest in education, and pondered if we will even reach pre-pandemic enrollment numbers.

Both speakers made strong cases for Public-Private Partnerships at the ground level to bring in much-needed accessibility and inclusivity, with Mr. Nayar saying, “Unless capital is invested, education will not transform.”

Mr. Jhalani stated the need to leverage private Edtech organisations to create a holistic learning environment, saying “My request to the government is to involve innovative, research-based private players early on so that our nation can execute the NEP rapidly”.

He went on to state that the knowledge and expertise such players bring to the table are immeasurable, and that they can help immediately start executing the NEP 2020 vision as envisioned by the policy.

Mr. Jhalani concluded by emphasising how any tool is only as good as the ones who wield them. In saying so, he directed attention towards the need for teacher training and Anganwadi worker upskilling, to help them develop 21st-century skills, and make the next decade one on which India leaves an indelible imprint.

Watch the entire session here.

Learn more about Square Panda India and our innovative early learning initiative, Aarambh, at ecce.squarepanda.in

Innovation and change have been the only constant over the past few years. We are facing a digital revolution, which completely upturns the way we currently function at work, at home, and even in educational institutions. The needs of the economy and nation are changing, thus altering the needs of 21^st century learners. These young children need to develop skills that empower them to stand tall and garner future success, skills like critical thinking, socio-emotional development, foundational literacy and numeracy, and more. 

Based on our years of experience in the early childhood education domain, we suggest these five ways to create an efficient 21^st century classroom:

1. Introduce Technology

NASSCOM data names India as one of the top enterprise hubs, second only to the USA. Even the Indian government has recognised the crucial need for technology in education and is investing in ed-tech, setting up global standards, and emerging as a key player in this sector. 

The Indian ed-tech sector has boomed since 2008; multiple start-ups, and increasing awareness have made this an attractive field. In a country like India, which caters to learners with varied needs and requirements, technology-led education is a valuable resource. AI & ML-powered learning makes classrooms accessible to every single student, regardless of their geographic location. Not only can tech be used to enhance learning for students, but can even be used in teacher training, and increasing educators’ digital literacy for a better teaching experience.

2. Blend Physical Learning Into Theory
Memorisation based on repetition, or rote learning, is not the most effective way to educate young children. With a child’s attention span being relatively low and research showing us that periods of focused attention improve cognitive information processing (i.e. learning), a blend of different techniques like using games in teaching and incorporating play-based activities and instructions will show stronger learning outcomes. 

A similar blended structure with teachers, Anganwadi workers, and other educators getting a chance to participate in activities and games themselves is precisely how training programs are to be structured. Educators learn to use the physical applications, tools, games, and activities so well that they are completely prepared to implement them inside their classrooms.

Want to set up a blended learning model in your classrooms and institutions? See our expert tips on how to get started here.

3. Include The Traditional With The Modern

India’s rich heritage has gifted us a wealth of learning tools that continue to hold value in today’s day and age. Every classroom, educational institution, and Anganwadi centre must take special care to adopt traditional games, music, art, and more alongside modern applications, linking children and their education to the past while bringing them into the future.

4. Transform Assessments

To paraphrase the revolutionary NEP 2020, assessments will undergo a shift from traditional rote memorisation tests, to ones that measure competency and higher-order skills, like critical thinking and analysis. This revision takes our existing teaching-learning process and optimises it to improve student outcomes across all levels of education. 

Realigning this process as per the NEP’s vision will take the help of technology and tools, for better delivery of feedback at every step of the process. Many such assessment tools personalise the feedback for each student, and provide a snapshot of the entire class at the same time, allowing educators to evaluate progress at various levels.

5. Professional Development For Educators And Anganwadi Workers

For a well-developed early learning landscape, we need to enhance the  21^st century skills of our educational community. These Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) stakeholders, comprising pre-primary and primary teachers, counsellors, principals, Anganwadi workers, etc., should be taught to understand early learning and the neuroscience behind it, basic digital literacy, and varied skill sets required for teaching today’s learners. Only then will they be equipped to create learning environments that nurture children with valuable life and academic skills, setting them up for a successful future.

In a step towards a stronger India, more attention has been accorded to developing crucial new-age skills in young learners. Advancing this vision is Square Panda India’s very own Aarambh initiative, which is powered by leading-edge technological innovations and the expertise of educators and neuroscientists. Our teaching-learning programs under Aarambh make us effective partners to various state governments and impact organisations across India. To learn more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in

If you have ever wondered how to teach a child to read, then this article, written on our global blog, is for you. With simple tips and easily available book suggestions, this article will make sure your kids learn to read English, taking them from pre-readers to confident and fluent lifelong readers.

Read the full article here.

Start your kids on their learning journey, with Square Panda.