India dropped one spot to 132 among 191 countries in the 2022 Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Clearly, development is about improving the wellbeing of every individual in society so they can reach their full potential and the success of a society is linked to the well-being of each and every citizen. Hence there is a need to ensure an improved quality of life for all especially for the disadvantaged and marginalized communities, of which even today, nearly 25 percent of India’s population lives below the poverty line. Leaving aside the rhetoric of the current economic growth success, it is the education level of its population which will determine in the long run India’s democratic credentials and its commitment towards tackling poverty.

For this, education cannot be just a process where children are equipped with the basic mechanics of reading, writing and arithmetic which they learn by rote and do so to just pass their exams, but rather there is a need for the children to be equipped to live in a dynamic world which is constantly changing by developing their abilities and skills to lead a meaningful life.
65% of the children in the country go to government schools, which are rife with many problems of poor school infrastructure, lack of teachers, social exclusion, etc. The lack of a quality early childhood education which has an impact on lifelong development and learning further compounds the problem.
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