Just 18 months and already in nursery!

BENGALURU: Just 18 months old and already in nursery school? Schools across the city are offering seats to mere infants for lower kindergarten (LKG) classes from this academic year.

Upset child rights activists have been banging on the doors of the Department of Public Instruction and Women and Child Welfare department to stop the trend.
The activists say that it is against child rights as children of this age group need special care, attention and protection.

The head of one such school said that admissions are being done separately for the play home, Montessori, nursery etc. “Today, working couples are left with no option but to admit their children to a play home or day care centre. We are only trying to help such people. We have put in place proper safety measures to ensure that these children are properly taken care of," he said.

However, Mr Nagasimha G. Rao of Child Rights Trust and urban nodal officer for Child Helpline 1098 said, “What can a one-and-half-year-old child learn at school? He cannot even walk properly and needs special care and round-the-clock observation. None of our schools have been designed for the safety of such young children. Also, it is risky to keep toddlers with elder children. Play homes and day care centers too are not advisable.. We will definitely look into the issue,” he told DC.

Mr D. Shashikumar of the Karnataka Associated Managements of English Medium Schools (KAMS) said, “it is not proper to put children of different age groups on the same premises. When the state government conducted a hearing on the safety of children in schools, we raised the same issue, he said.