Should early child care centres be opened sooner?

The world is still struggling to come to terms with the unprecedented impact that COVID-19 has had on every aspect of human life. The pandemic has forced cities and towns to go into lockdowns. The attendant side effects — including the rather sudden withdrawal of certain social support services — have affected large groups of people. For a good proportion of the working population, working from home is not an option and they have been summoned to their workplaces. And, the usual structures that would keep their young children safe while their parents are at work — schools, anganwadis and balwadis — are not operational. In this context, parents have made the fervent appeal to open up early child care centres. Two experts discuss key issues concerning the area of early child care. Guests: Maya Gaitonde, honorary general secretary of the Chennai-based Bala Mandir Kamaraj Trust.  K. Shanmugavelayutham, convenor of Tamil Nadu Forum for Creche and Child care Services and a senior consultant in the Kasturirangan Committee. Host: Ramya Kannan, Chief of Bureau, The Hindu Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at [email protected]