Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday announced that the Delhi government will soon set up Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) centres in Delhi.
He made the announcement at a programme organised by the Ambedkar University at India Habitat Centre here.
"We are setting up Early Childhood Care & Education Centres in Delhi. Our government is very much serious about this project. We need almost 3,000 ECCE centres," Sisodia said.
He said that these 3,000 centres, once opened, would prepare about 2.5-3 lakh children for schools over three years.
"But, it would take time to set up 3,000 centres. So, it is my endeavour to start 10 centres on pilot basis in one month. These pilot centres will be opened specifically in slum clusters and unauthorised colonies."
Sisodia said, "This will help the kids living in slums clusters a lot and prepare them for school education, which most of the time they don't get."
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The ECCE centres, he said, should function in a way that when a six-year-old goes to school, he should be prepared for academic education.
"In the name of early childhood education, we have playways and nursery classes, but those lack the broader concept of early childhood care."
"We will develop ECCE centres in a way where children are taught lessons of life through plays, activities and games. We will run these centres with the help of society and experts," Sisodia added.
--IANS
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