Source Manoj Kumar

15, Dec, New Delhi: The Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED), Ambedkar University Delhi, organized a two day National Conference on Early Language and Literacy on 14^th-15^th December, 2017. Organized in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad and supported by Children Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the conference sought to bring together emerging concerns and challenges around early language and literacy in India.      

Approaching the issue of multilinguality and the discontinuity between oral and written languages, it becomes imperative to understand that children who grow up in non-print environment may have local knowledges which do not find a place in the school system. It has been researched and established that several elements like the development of oral language and vocabulary, engagement with print, sounds, symbols and words etc., need to be contextualized in order to increase the meaningful and empowered participation of children coming from varied language background.

Keeping some of the above concerns at the forefront, the modus operandi of the conference was to initiate and sustain a focused national conversation around issues that will enable more and more children to become fully literate. The conference on early language and literacy aimed to contribute to the emergent national conversation around these issues by building on previous conversations and moving them forward. It also brought a focus on research-based understandings to the forefront of conversations that influence policy-making and practices on the ground.

Speaking over the need of conducting and disseminating research which is relevant to the Indian context, Prof. Venita Kaul (Founder & Director CECED, Ambedkar University) mentioned, “We have no institutional memory due to a lack of research and documentation. It is thus essential that we create documents, which are accessible and understandable by the larger audience.”

About CECED, Ambedkar University Delhi:

The Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED) is envisaged as an institution that brings together research, policy and practice in the area of Early Childhood Education and Development within a coherent and holistic conceptual frame. CECED is a part of Ambedkar University, Delhi (AUD) which has been established by the Government of the NCT Delhi. CECED’s vision is to promote systemic understanding of developmentally and contextually appropriate and inclusive Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) with a focus on early learning.