Beyond Screens: Revolutionizing Early Childhood Education in India with EdTech

In collaboration with EkStep Foundation

With an internet penetration rate of 52% in 2022 and 600 million smartphone users , digital platforms have become a lynchpin in enhancing public service delivery and fostering government-citizen engagement. This shift has had a notable impact on healthcare and education, and India's strategic focus on digital governance has been a game-changer. What stands out is the combination of policies and frameworks that resulted in the successful and sustainable implementation of innovative technological use cases in education (Digital Public Goods (DPG) for Education ).

Digital Infrastructure and Digital Public Goods in Education

The closure of schools during the pandemic marked a significant turning point, prompting an urgent reevaluation of educational delivery mechanisms. The National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 draws attention to the need for “open, interoperable, evolvable, public digital infrastructure in the education sector that can be used by multiple platforms and point solutions, to solve India's scale, diversity, complexity and device penetration”.

DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing), an initiative of the National Council of Educational Research and Training ( NCERT ) under MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA is a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that is a cornerstone of the digital shift in the education domain. Developed by leveraging Sunbird building blocks, which are open source and a set of Digital Public Goods (DPGs), DIKSHA offers a choice to the States/UTs to create a range of different programs and solutions to be implemented to their context and enables access to a wide array of free learning resources compatible with over sixty educational boards. It encompasses approximately 20,000 courses and 260,000 pieces of content, including various interactive learning tools and other solution components.?

This content is accessible in all scheduled languages with the application of a language-related DPI, BHASHINI , an open-source AI translation platform by the Electronics India, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Govt. of India , that hosts document translation, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, image-to-text, and other translation services. It is also based on a plug-and-play architecture, offering interoperable and evolvable digital building blocks that other educational bodies can use to co-create customised translation models for domain-specific use cases.?

DPIs have been made possible by investments in DPGs, which have emerged from philanthropic and academic open-source initiatives such as EkStep Foundation ’s Sunbird and AI4 Bharat.??

The ASER 2023 survey indicated that nearly 90% of youth are now smartphone users , and a majority of them use these devices for learning. Moreover, the return to classrooms hasn't diminished the relevance of digital tools; ed-tech innovations continue to evolve, focusing on interactive learning within classrooms and streamlining administrative processes in schools.

Role of Technology in Early Childhood Education

The pandemic also underscored the vulnerabilities in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), with Anganwadis and preschools facing extended closures. Unlike older students, young children's education relies heavily on social interaction and physical engagement with caregivers, presenting unique challenges for digital adoption. A 30% drop in pre-primary enrollment during 2021-22 from pre-Covid levels highlighted the pressing need for adaptable, digital solutions.?

NEP 2020 brings a spotlight to “flexible, multilevel, play/activity-based learning and the curriculum and pedagogy” for the foundational years (covering ages 3 to 8), boosted by e-content in diverse languages for educators and caregivers, with a special focus on children with special needs. Technology's true potential for early learning lies not in replacing tactile, kinesthetic, and social experiences with audio-visual digital content but in empowering caregivers with the tools and resources they need to foster an enriching learning environment.

New tech platforms in education also need to adapt to the realities of India it wants to serve, where most low-income households own just one smartphone and have access to primarily low-data applications. At Udaan , at a conference on ECCE hosted by Rocket Learning, Mr. Shivnath Thukral , who leads public policy at Meta , said that innovators in India will have to work around app fatigue among Indian users when developing digital platforms. He advised them to build interoperable platforms on top of popular, low-data applications to maximise their reach and impact rather than overwhelming users with new applications.?

The Rocket Learning model, for example, supports frontline worker capabilities by leveraging AI and data engineering to automate delivery of tailored, supplementary content in bite-sized formats on WhatsApp to 2.5 million actively engaged users, informing them of the science of early childhood development and innovative teaching practices.?

Because the Whatsapp-based platform allows for quick product tests and trials, AI-based tools can quickly analyze how users are interacting with the platform and make small adjustments to learning content that encourages parents to engage in a different way with their child's early development. Data-backed insights gained from the user’s interactions with content and activities on the platform are further fed into the government’s curriculum development initiatives for ECCE.

AI and machine learning are revolutionizing education, aiding educators with just-in-time access to ideas, learning content, and other materials in their respective languages. E-Jaadui Pitara (eJP), launched by NCERT in February 2024, supports preschool educators, Anganwadi teachers, and parents with curated content in 11 languages. The underlying components i.e., the AI chatbots, of the eJP have been developed as a Digital Public Good. The chatbots - Parent Tara and Teacher Tara, assist in play-based learning, and run as a scale solution because of digital infrastructure such as DIKSHA and Bhashini. Being a Digital Public Good, these AI chatbots promote interoperability and scalability that can be leveraged by any organisation to develop solutions. They are specifically designed for low-resource settings and are moving towards more affordability. EkStep Foundation and AWS's Joint Innovation Centre offer these digital public goods as tools to the Bachpan Manao collab-actor ecosystem, to foster contextual solutions for early childhood education nationwide.

Enhancing Accountability and Learning in ECCE

In India, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) serves as a cornerstone for delivering non-formal preschool education and addressing critical health concerns like malnutrition, child morbidity, and infant mortality through its 13.9 lakh Anganwadi centres network.?

These efforts are monitored via the Poshan Tracker, the world’s largest mobile phone-based nutrition tracking system covering nearly 8 crore children under 6. It has proven effective in strengthening transparency and accountability mechanisms within ICDS.?

As a recent Lancet study shows, the proportion of children aged 0-6 who had their height and weight growth measured and reported online has increased dramatically since the deployment of the platform, from only 45% of child beneficiaries in 2022 to 94% in 2023.

It is time to expand its scope to reflect the significance of preschool education within the Anganwadi framework. The government could consider supplementing the Poshan Tracker’s focus on anthropometric outcomes, functioning of Anganwadi Centers, and last-mile delivery of nutritional services, with key ECCE indicators, such as observational assessments of language development, cognitive skills, socio-emotional development, and executive function. Such data can be recorded by Anganwadi workers on a quarterly basis during home visits for children aged 0-3 and at Anganwadis for those aged 3-6.?

A comprehensive approach to data collection could also incorporate a periodic household survey to collect detailed information on child outcomes, and environmental factors such as the quality of children’s home environment, parental involvement in developmental activities, and availability of educational resources at home.?

Observation protocols for Supervisors and Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs) can be upgraded to evaluate and report the effectiveness of educational activities undertaken by Anganwadi workers. By integrating these observational frameworks with appropriate checklists on Poshan Tracker, Anganwadi workers can be better guided on the quality of their engagement in preschool education.?

Fostering a Supportive Ecosystem in ECCE Through Technology

The National Curricular Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS ), 2022 reinforces how technology can enable the sourcing of a range of content that is contextual, inclusive and in multiple languages. Not only can technology support educator- and parent-engagement with children, but building upon digital infrastructure and frameworks can accelerate this process.?

The Ministry of Women and Child Development’s recent ECCE curricular frameworks, Navchetana and Aadharshila , for children aged 0-3 and 3-6 years, are aligned with NCF-FS’s emphasis on technological integration. They underscore the utility of integrating a comprehensive suite of activities, content, checklists, and tools within the Poshan Tracker app. From expansive digital libraries filled with engaging content to multisensory tools crafted for children with visual and auditory impairments, technology can act as a conduit that marries scientific insights with practical application. This integration is crucial for empowering workers with resources to effectively stimulate children’s learning, monitor their development, and identify early signs of developmental delays and disabilities.?

Aadharshila and Navchetana also offer an opportunity to distribute audio-visual materials in text, image, audio, and video formats at a minimal cost. Organic communication on social media and messaging apps has fostered stronger connections between parents and educators and created opportunities for educator networks to grow. These developments set the stage to enable the delivery of personalized guidance and targeted nudges tailored to the child's or caregiver's specific needs.

Embracing technological solutions in ECCE does not mean putting screens in front of children. India’s vision for incorporating tech in India’s early childhood education landscape should be less about digitizing the learning experience, and more about leveraging technology to build a supportive, informed community of caregivers.?

It is about using digital tools to extend the reach and impact of education beyond the classroom or Anganwadi center, making it a shared responsibility that unites educators, parents, and the wider community in the common goal of nurturing our youngest learners.

We commend these organizations who have joined hands with us to secure a future full of opportunities for India's young learners by leverage tech and AI: NCERT & SCERT, Ministry of Education, Bhasini, National Institute Of Public Cooperation and Child Development , Digital India Corporation , Ministry of Women and Child Development, MyGov India , INDIAai , ICDS, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Central Square Foundation , Pratham Education Foundation , Dost Education , The Convergence Foundation , Lively Minds , ACT , Veddis Foundation , Mulago , Fast Forward , The Agency Fund , Meta, Amazon Web Services (AWS) , EkStep, Bachpan Manao , Aga Khan Foundation India , Key Education Foundation , Adhyayan Foundation , Sol's ARC , Dharma Life , Aavishkaar Foundation , Chrysalis , EduWeave Foundation , Gram Vaani , Kutuki , Latika , LEAD School , Saajha , Tech Mahindra Foundation , Ummeed