PRE PRIMARY LEVELS I AND II REDEFINED

Adjustment aimed at ensuring quality standards in Early Childhood Care and Education
GANGTOK, 12 Feb: The State government has redefined the Pre-Primary Levels I and II to align these levels with the national standards, particularly the National Policy on Early Childhood Care and Education. This has been necessitated to provide a curriculum framework for Early Childhood Care and Education and ensure quality standards in ECCE.
It is informed that the Pre Primary Level I which includes children upto 4 years of age will henceforth be admitted in Integrated Child Development Scheme Centres; these centres function under the Social Justice Empowerment and Welfare Department as Pre Primary Level I.
The Integrated Child Development Scheme Centers shall also look after the children’s nutrition, communication, psychomotor, basic values and social skills. The centres shall also monitor the nutritional contents in the Mid Day Meal provided to the children at Pre-Primary level II.
The Pre Primary Level II which includes children aged 5 years and above will be promoted from Pre Primary Level I and admitted to Pre Primary Level II under the Human Resource Development Department.
The Human Resource Development Department shall look into the other development aspects of the child relating to language and numerical skills at Pre Primary school level-II in order to make a child ready for class-I when he/ she attains the age of 6 (six) years.
School timings for Pre Primary Level II will be from 9:15 am to 12:30 p m. Mid Day Meals will also be provided to the children of pre primary levels attached to the government schools.
The vision of the National ECCE Policy is to promote inclusive, equitable and contextualized opportunities for promoting optimal development and active learning capacity of all children below 6 years of age. The Policy focus is on early preschool learning for every child below six years.
Broadly, the policy focuses on restructuring the Integrated Child Development Scheme [ICDS] and integrating early childhood education with the Right to Education Act to ensure a smooth transition into formal schooling.