School Registration Portal Launched

• 25 Apr 2025

Why in News? 

The Maharashtra government launched a portal for private pre-schools to register, aiming to build a unified database of all pre-schools in the state. 

 Key Points 

• About the Portal: 
  • The State government has made pre-school registration voluntary for the time being. 
    • A dedicated Act to regulate pre-primary education is currently in progress. 
  • Until now, formal education in Maharashtra began at Class 1, after children turned 6. 
    • Pre-schools (nursery to senior kindergarten, for ages 3–6) were not part of the mainstream system. 
• ECCE under NEP 2020: 
  • The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 includes Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in formal schooling. 
    • With Maharashtra implementing NEP in schools, pre-schools will also be brought into the mainstream. 
  • The school education department has data on government-run anganwadis and balwadis (under Women and Child Development Department). 
    • However, there is no formal data on the large number of privately run pre-schools. 

 National Education Policy 2020 

• About:  
  • The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to address India's evolving development needs by overhauling the education system to meet 21st century goals and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), while preserving India's cultural heritage.  
  • It replaced the National Policy on Education, 1986, which was modified in 1992. 
• Salient Features: 
  • Universal Access: Focuses on providing access to education from pre-school through secondary levels. 
  • Early Childhood Education: Transitions from the 10+2 to a 5+3+3+4 system, including children aged 3-6 in the school curriculum with an emphasis on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). 
  • Multilingualism: Promotes using mother tongues or regional languages as the medium of instruction up to Grade 5, with options for Sanskrit and other languages. Indian Sign Language (ISL) will be standardised. 
  • Inclusive Education: Emphasises support for Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs), children with disabilities, and the establishment of "Bal Bhavans." 
  • Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) Enhancement: Aim to raise the Gross Enrolment Ratio from 26.3% to 50% by 2035, adding 3.5 crore new seats. 
  • Research Focus: Establishes the National Research Foundation to enhance research culture and capacity. 
  • Language Preservation: Supports Indian languages through the Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITI) and strengthens language departments. 
  • Internationalisation: Encourages international collaborations and the entry of top-ranked foreign universities. 
    • For example, in 2023 UGC released regulations to facilitate foreign universities to set up campuses in India. 
  • Funding: Targets increasing public investment in education to 6% of GDP. 
  • PARAKH Assessment Center: Introduces PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) for competency-based and holistic assessments. 
  • Gender Inclusion Fund: Establishes a fund to promote gender equality in education and support initiatives for disadvantaged groups. 
  • Special Education Zones: Creates Special Education Zones to cater to the needs of disadvantaged regions and groups, reinforcing the commitment to equitable access to quality education.