Pre-school Education diploma courses to be introduced in 2017-18

In order for our plan to open 3,000 Early Childhood Education Development centres, it is important to build human resource capacities parallely. That is the purpose of the newly-launched Diploma program MANISH SISODIA DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER

NEW DELHI: With an aim to build a skilled staff for 3,000 early childhood education centres, the Delhi government’s District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) will offer a Diploma course in Pre-school Education beginning from the next academic session.

This diploma would be started in all nine DIETS of the Delhi government, with 450 seats in the first year.

The Government had earlier announced the setting up of an Early Childhood Education Development (ECED) program, with 3,000 centres across the national Capital. The move to offer Diplomas in Pre-school Education is aimed at building the capacity required for the ECED program.

It is now globally accepted that pre-school education or early childhood education (ECE), which covers education for children between the ages of three to six, is necessary to build a strong foundation for overall human development and to ensure school readiness for primary education.

While several states run anganwadis for children under the age of six, there has never been an attempt to run formal educational institutes on such a large scale by any Government.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said: “Our Government understands that merely announcing grand plans is never enough for them to succeed. There is a need to create institutional foundations on which programs can be run successfully. In order for our plan to open 3,000 ECED centres, it is important to build human resource capacities parallely. That is the purpose of the newlylaunched Diploma program.”