Training for Child Care and Education Workers in India

The history of Early Childhood Education in India dates from the 1890s, though growth remained restricted till Independence. In 1953, the Government first began to play a larger role, promoting, through voluntary effort, kindergartens in rural areas. The first major training programme was the Bal Sevika (Child care worker) Training scheme in 1961 by the Indian Council of Child Welfare.The second big breakthrough came with the Integrated Child Development Services in 1974, the world's largest to attempt to provide a package of services to the most vulnerable children. The attached four-month job training, intended to develop paraprofessionals with multiple roles, supported by untrained ‘helpers’ is hence somewhat diluted in content.In addition several other limited kinds of training in Early Childhood Education are available.Training programmes have had to face several recurrent constraints related to issues of both quantity and quality—availability at different levels; relevance of content and appropriateness of methodology; motivation; certification; and the development of a trainer cadre.Recently, innovative training programmes, three of which are mentioned, are attempting to meet these challenges in new ways.