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Pre-Primary Must Not Be Formal

By Manu Shrivastava

Pre-primary school are centres where generally pre-primary education is imparted before the compulsory ‘formal’ primary education begins. It is supposed to lay foundation of knowledge in children and ensures an overall development of child.
It is yet to be ascertained if starting formal education that early is good or bad for the overall development of children
Formal education is a classroom-based training that is provided by trained teachers or instructors. This process of acquiring knowledge is primarily by way of instructions and involves schools or institutions. This type of education is subject oriented and has a hierarchical structure.

In formal learning, children learn basic academic skills in the premises of a school. Generally, formal education begins in elementary or primary school but now, in many instances, basics of formal education begin in pre-primary education itself. It is yet to be ascertained if starting formal education that early is good or bad for the overall development of children.

In India, similar to many Asian countries, there is immense pressure on the child to perform well in academics and on the parents to ensure the child performs well to maintain their reputation among the peers. Formal education is one type of education that has developed hundreds of ways to ‘mark’ children.

There are tests of all kinds during the academic session, at the end of academic session, exams, competitions and activities where children are constantly ranked against each other. In these activities, children understand one thing for sure – that anything they do, they will be either better or worse than their ‘friends’ and peer.

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