The newly formed state government in Gujarat is planning to make registration of pre-primary schools mandatory. The state government is in the process of setting up a regulation policy which is also likely to frame rules concerning minimum qualification criteria for teachers in junior and senior kindergartens.
There are about 40,000 pre-primary schools across the state, but they are not regulated by any educational authority. Most of these schools operate out of tenements and bungalows. At present, there are no rules pertaining to fees or teachers’ eligibility.
The government will come up with rules pertaining to various aspects of pre-primary schools. A regulation was under consideration for a long time and the draft is almost ready. It will soon be sent to the government for approval.
In the new National Education Policy, 2020, primary education has been divided into two parts: Class 1-5 and Class 6-8. Three pre-primary sections – nursery, Junior KG and Senior KG – are included in the first part of primary education. As the pre-primary schools are not regulated by authorities, the government does not have details about the number of students in pre-primary sections. Through this regulation, the government intends to monitor pre-primary students who will progress to Class 1.
The government also wants to regulate fee structures of pre-primary schools and ensure that teachers who are recruited meet the required qualification criteria.
The regulation is expected to come as a huge relief to parents because the pre-primary schools charge fees in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 80,000. Once the fee structure is regulated, there will be fee slabs, sources said.
