Ten years ago also there was a massive competition between the children as well as the parents. Everyone wanted their child to be the best in everything. Pressure from the school, pressure from the parents and pressure from the society. Children as small as two years old were sent to school. They didn’t even know how to pronounce their own name properly but no they had to get up early in the morning and go to school.

Times have changed now. A lot of research has gone into this field as it is of utmost importance. Now, education is a lot more high-tech. A lot of softwares have come out to help children learn in a better, fun and a more interactive way. Now the child’s need is of paramount importance. “We don’t want to pressurise or burden the child in any way. Now, the idea is not only academics but the over all development of the child,” says Radhika Bhushan, directress of a renowned pre-school.

For admission in a school, the intelligence of the child is just 10 per cent of what they actually see in a child. The admission now is taken under three criterions- motor skills, which is how well they can walk and balance themselves as well as how independent they are, emotional development and social development. They see if the child is clinging to its mother and crying or is carefree and open. “They are just two- three year old, we cannot expect them to answer our questions always. Sometimes, they might know the answer but may not feel like answering it,” states Nalini Murarka, principal of another such pre-school. One of the most important requirements for admission is language skills. How well the child can speak and how well can he form and pronounce words. The child should be able to express himself.

The parents now a days, look for a pre-school, where their child would have no strain or stress. Earlier they used to look for the school with the best education but now, the first thing they see is how many activities the school will have. They want that their child should be free.

The pre-schools these days are expensive if you compare them to the normal primary schools. Its very difficult to pay the fees for some parents. But it is compensated in a way because in a pre-school there is one teacher for twenty students and in a primary school, one teacher for fifty students, so, there is more personalised attention and it is also tough to handle younger children and to take care of them and their needs. Therefore, the pay scale of the teachers has also increased. It is not really necessary but it is happening all over India. So now, people have started judging schools by how expensive they are because they think it will have more activities and better quality education.

To hire teachers, the most important quality any school looks for is patience. The teacher should have compassion and no harsh words are allowed and hitting students is a complete no-no. “If a teacher even scolds a child these days we get a complaint the next day by a parent that the child doesn’t want to come to school,” says Prerna Musaddi, principal of Candy Floss Pre-School. The teacher’s language is taken into account because it is said that a child learns the maximum in the age of two to five. If he hears a bad word he will learn it.

According to Nalini Murarka, education is getting more and more important so, pre-school education will definitely stay and become more and more competitive and because of the researches, the pressure on the students is decreasing every year and thus the future of pre-school education is extremely bright.