COVID-19 and Early Childhood Care and Education in India

ABSTRACT

The abrupt closure of preschools and schools in March 2020 brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic punctuated the schooling process and renewed questions related to provision, access and accessibility of education in the Indian context. With job losses and consequent social and economic changes, it sharply divided the academic, social and political world in India—especially more so for the already marginalized in the country. This chapter will present an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the landscape of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in India. Specifically, it will focus on the policy context vis-à-vis the functioning of the institutions that provide ECCE services for children and families and how the pandemic has deepened the already existing gap in provisioning. It will examine the major types of challenges in ECCE in India. These relate to the provision of services for the most vulnerable children and families;use of technology for accessing services;social, emotional, physical development and the role of play;and family-school relationships. Given the criticality of the early childhood years and the kind of support children need during this time, the pandemic will have an impact on vulnerable young children and their families for decades to come. This chapter will also provide implications for the provisioning context in India and ways to strengthen them. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.