Union School Education Secretary Anil Swarup today said the central government would set up pre-school educational units...

Union School Education Secretary Anil Swarup today said the central government would set up pre-school educational units and the NCERT was preparing a curriculum for them. "There is a preparatory work to be done before a child enters into class one. We are studying how pre-school will work in the government domain. What approach needs to be taken," Swarup said here.

Centre to set up pre-school educational units: Anil

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was coming out with a curriculum in this regard by this year, he told reporters on the sidelines of a session on pre-school policy organized by the ASSOCHAM. Swarup said the HRD ministry will come out with a guideline by June 30 relating to the Central government's financial assistance to the proposed pre-school units to be set up by the school education department.

Asked about the role of pre-schools set up by private bodies, he said the "private sector is doing a great job and can give us ideas. Personally, I believe that good work can be done in both private and public domains."  With the 'Samagra Shiksha' programme launched last month, "we plan to impart holistic education without segmentation from pre-nursery to Class 12," he said.

Pre-school policy organized by the ASSOCHAM

With 'Samagra Shiksha' coming into effect, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan will cease to exist separately and merge with it, he said. "We expect support from state governments for rolling out the scheme effectively," Swarup said. On a question about corporal punishment, Swarup said, "Handling a child should be different from handling an adult.