The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) is launching a National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education for Children from three to six Years and a National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation for Children from birth to three years. At present, the Ministry empowers and supports mothers and their children under six years through Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, together with the Palna and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) Schemes under Mission Shakti.
For children from age three to six, the National Curriculum for ECCE 2024 covers all domains of development as per the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage 2022 (NCF-FS), including physical/motor, cognitive, language and literacy, socio-emotional, cultural/aesthetic as well as positive habits, reported PIB.
The Curriculum is structured to provide a weekly calendar comprising 36 weeks of active learning, 8 weeks of reinforcement and 4 weeks of initiation, together with 5+1 days of play-based learning in one week, and three blocks of activities in one day. It provides for a combination of activities, including in-centre and at-home, indoor and outdoor, child-led and educator-led etc.
For children from birth to three years, the National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation 2024 aims to empower caregivers and Anganwadi Workers for holistic early stimulation, through responsive caregiving and opportunities for early learning, for optimal development of children, both body and brain. It fills conceptual and practical gaps in the understanding of care and stimulation, based on the Nurturing Care Framework, the report added.