With mushrooming pre-schools in Kathmandu, you can find them in every nook and corner of the city. And so also has the trend of sending children to pre-school caught up on parents. However, have people really understood the fundamental nature of a pre-school or a Montessori?
WHAT IT MEANS
“Parents should first familiarize themselves with the concept of early childhood education,” informed Pavitra Limbu, director of Nepal Montessori Training Center and Montessori Kinderworld, the first chain of Montessori schools in Nepal, which goes back over a decade.
Early childhood education is an organized practice of bringing an overall development in a child of 2+ to 6 years old, according to Limbu.
“Many people are still unaware of the fact that Montessori is a term derived from the name of an Italian educator and physician, Dr Mariam Montessori,” said Sapna Thapa, director of MotherCare International, who has been involved in the field for more than 15 years.
Thapa, who is currently pursuing her PhD in early childhood program, further said, “Dr Montessori’s philosophies not only focus on imparting
knowledge but developing the spiritual energy of a child through the inclusion of social, cognitive, language, and emotional aspects as well.”
She opined, however, that the problem in Nepal is there are many Montessori schools that simply carry the name.
“One can’t claim to be a Montessori school by just learning the methods and having the required equipment. One needs to be extremely observant and have a deeper understanding of a child,” asserted Thapa.
Along similar lines, Tsering Gurung of Montessori Cottage at Swayambhu added, “There are many schools misusing the name of Montessori in order to attract parents, but these schools seldom have the proper equipment mandatory to meet Montessori standards.”
The practice of abusing the Montessori title is, in fact, a global phenomenon, informed Limbu.
“Pre-schools need to be very spacious,” put in Janet Dewan, practitioner and coordinator of the seven-years-old Montessori Kinderworld, sharing that some local pre-schools are running with only two to three rooms.
POLICIES
“Pre-schools abroad have governing bodies and councils that monitor the running of pre-schools, such as the National Education Program Association, and American Montessori Society,” shared Limbu.
Unfortunately in Nepal, to date, the government has not assigned any type of policies or criteria for pre-schools, lamented both Limbu and Thapa.
The two also agreed that apart from granting permission to open pre-schools and setting a few rules and regulations here and there, there isn’t a concrete system of monitoring these schools, nor any standards set by private or government bodies.
However, Devina Pradhananga, Deputy Director of the Department of Education (DoE), said, “We’re monitoring early childhood training programs which encompass pre-schools and Montessori schools.”
The DoE regularly conducts discussions with school authorities.
“By the end of this year, we’ll release a report on the state of pre-schools in Nepal,” Pradhananga said and asserted, “We’ll make sure that the required rules are implemented accordingly.”
In order to open a pre-school, the proprietor has to take permission from the respective metropolitan city office. A staff at Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office informed that they give permission and inspect the school area but have no proper records of the numbers of such learning centers in the capital city.
Ironically, even the government, although it has plans for outlining certain laws for them, does not have an updated record on the number of pre-schools.
WHY OPT FOR PRE-SCHOOLS?
“More women are now economically independent in our society,” said Limbu on the growing need of pre-schools. “They no longer have time to look after their children as before since they are also earners,” she added on the decreased length of postnatal childcare.
However, it is a key point for parents to know the difference between early childhood daycare centers versus pre-schools. While the former serve the purpose of babysitting, the latter is more like an “academic training center preparing children for primary level education,” clarified Limbu.
“At pre-schools, we make learning fun because of which children learn faster from what they love best, and that’s playing,” highlighted Dewan. “For instance, we have a curriculum called The Dramatic Corner where children play roles of mothers or fathers, and so by acting, they learn about relations in one’s life.”
Real vegetables or models are used for teaching, instead of two-dimensional images, making learning interactive. Children are also given individual attention.
“Parents today are more aware of the importance of pre-schools and have started understanding this phase of a child’s life,” said Limbu.
Nonetheless, this awareness also comes with a hefty price tag, making it unaffordable even for most middle-class families to send their kids to pre-schools.
“We hire trained professionals who expect higher incentives; instead of just one teacher, we keep two teachers and two maids, which raises the overall fees,” justified Limbu and stated, “You have to look into the quality of education and not the expenses.”
That logic should be behind parental decision to send their children to Montessori and pre-school learning centers.
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