One such frontier is early childhood education (ECE). A June 2024 study, ‘Structured early childhood education exposure and childhood cognition – Evidence from an Indian birth cohort’, published in Nature highlights ECE’s lasting benefits. Children who attended 18-24 months of ECE showed a boost in cognitive abilities, with scores in areas like processing speed increasing by 19.55 pts at age 5, and full-scale intelligence improving by 7.24 pts by 9. These gains remained strong even when factors like family income and early health were considered.
These programmes ensure that disadvantaged children start school with the same opportunities as their advantaged peers. A 2010 US-based study, ‘The rate of return to the HighScope Perry Preschool Program’, found that participants who received high-quality ECE showed improvements in cognitive development, with IQ scores increasing by an average of 4.5 pts at age 5. This cognitive boost led to long-term benefits, including 20% higher high school graduation rate, 30% higher earnings by 40, and a 50% reduction in crime rates compared to those who did not attend the programme.
From an economic standpoint, ECE benefits outweigh costs. Long-term savings in reduced spending on special education, social services and public assistance are substantial. For example, in the US, intensive early education has been shown to double the likelihood of college attendance and decrease the need for special education services.
Moreover, cost-benefit analyses have demonstrated a return of $7 for every $1 invested in ECE, driven by long-term gains in educational attainment, earnings, and reductions in welfare dependency and crime.
In India, ECE, supplemental nutrition and health services are dealt with through Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Research has demonstrated that early-life exposure to ICDS enhances educational attainment among adolescents and adults.A 2020 study, ‘The Impact of a National Early Childhood Development Program on Future Schooling Attainment: Evidence from Integrated Child Development Services in India’, found that male individuals aged 15-54 and female individuals aged 15-49 who were non-migrants and had access to an ICDS centre during their first three years of life completed an additional 0.1-0.3 grades of schooling compared to those without such exposure, with the effect being more pronounced among females.Clearly, India needs to do more on ECE. The quality of education provided under such programmes is also problematic in some states. One reason for this is the overworked anganwadi workers. Tasked with a staggering 25 distinct roles, they are expected to handle everything from health and nutrition education to breastfeeding counselling, coordination of supplementary nutrition programmes for children and mothers, record keeping, educational home visits, and collaboration with primary healthcare personnel on initiatives like immunisation. This extensive workload strains their capacity and jeopardises the overall effectiveness of ICDS.
A 2023 randomised control trial (RCT) in Tamil Nadu demonstrated the impact of bolstering ICDS staffing levels. Adding a half-time worker led to doubling preschool instructional time, yielding substantial gains of 0.29 σ (standard deviations) in maths and 0.46 σ in language test scores for children who remained enrolled over 18 months. Even among the broader cohort of initially-enrolled children, test score improvements of 0.13 σ in maths and 0.10 σ in language were observed. Moreover, the intervention markedly reduced child stunting and severe malnutrition rates.
Taking a cue from this, UP advertised 10,684 positions for ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) educators for all 75 districts last month. Their responsibilities include:
Preparing children aged 3-6 years for formal education by creating an environment conducive to physical, mental, social, emotional and academic development.
Focusing on children’s creative development through activities involving shapes, sounds, colours, and interactions with nature and animals.
Coordinating with parents and other caregivers to ensure participation in the child’s learning process.
Creating child profiles to track developmental milestones. This programme is also supported by the education ministry, GoI.
UP’s example of prioritising ECE through recruitment of specialised educators should serve as a model for other states. The tangible benefits of such investments – improved cognitive abilities, higher educational attainment and long-term socioeconomic gains – underscore the need for these programmes to become a standard across India.
As states vie to outdo one another in business, they must equally compete to ensure that every child, irrespective of geography, receives the best possible start in life.
Debroy is chairman, and Sinha is OSD, research, Economic Advisory Councilto the PM (EAC-PM)
