Hyderabad: An insightful conference held on Early Childhood Care & Education

Hyderabad: Standing firm on its commitment to delivering best-in-class early childhood experience to preschool students, Next Education, India's leading end-to-end education solutions provider hosted a conference, in association with Azim Premji School of Education and Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) Hyderabad at Taj Krishna, Hyderabad. Themed on 'Early Childhood Care & Education: Principles & Practice', the three-day conference focussed on the importance of preschool education and the need for a well-defined early childhood care and education (ECCE) curriculum.

The conference covered in-depth sessions on vital subjects such as child development, healthy settings, moral outlook, and school readiness, among others. A broad panel comprising Edu-leaders, practitioners, and decision-makers, mostly from the school fraternity of Southern and Western parts of the country, took part in the stimulating conference. Noted domain leaders such as Rekha Sen Sharma (Indira Gandhi National Open University, Delhi), Sunita Singh (Ambedkar University, Delhi), Shailaja Menon (Azim Premji University, Bengaluru), Nilesh Nimkar (Quality Education Support Trust, Sonale) and Amina Charania (TISS, Mumbai), among others were present at the engaging conference, throwing light on the importance of developing a healthier, safer and engaging learning environment for the preschool children while giving them equal opportunities to nurture and grow as sensible adults.

RekhaPappu (TISS, Hyderabad) said, "Preschool education is the foundation of a child's journey. This makes it important for educators to create a conducive learning environment for the children to engage in newer things and activities, and educate them through innovative learning techniques. After all, it is the little things in life that help children nurture and develop leadership qualities and prepare them to tackle inevitable challenges in the ups and downs of life. Events like these are crucial at the moment, especially when it comes to sensitizing preschool children and helping them grow as wiser and mindful adults."

Teachers are believed to be the key driving force to educate children from the very childhood. It is their responsibility to encourage the child to take risks while equally allowing them to enjoy independence at every step. It is essential to provide them a fun and collaborative environment where they can explore and develop curiosity towards learning new things, engage in outdoor activities and gain knowledge about the different cultures that the country embrace. All of these activities play a key role in the holistic development of the child.

In line with this vision, the three-day conference extensively elucidated the need and role of preschool education while also shedding light upon how technology can aid in the development of young minds as well as the need for nurturing the socio-emotional health of pre- schoolers.