The Diploma Programme in Early Childhood Care and Education is a unique holistic package that aims at helping the learner develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for working with young children (i.e. children up to six years of age) and equips them to organise and manage child-care centres like crèches, preschools, nursery schools, kindergartens and day-care centres.

The New Education Policy of the Government of India, 1986, strongly emphasises the importance of the early years of childhood, and the need for providing early childhood care and education (ECCE) services on a national scale, both to serve as a feeder into primary education and to enable women to join the workforce by providing quality services for the care of their children. One needs trained people with the right perspective about ECCE to work in a child-care centre.

The specific objectives of the Diploma Programme are to enable the learner:

• To develop an understanding about the needs and rights of children with emphasis on the socio-cultural context of childhood;
• To understand the development of children from birth to six years of age;
• To plan play activities for fostering development;
• To appreciate the health and nutritional needs of young children and to be able to evaluate a diet as regards nutritional adequacy;
• To be able to identify common childhood illnesses, take care of the sick child and take preventive measures;
• To interact with the community and impart simple health, nutrition and preschool education and early childhood care and education massages;
• To identify children with special needs, be able to take care of their needs within the setting of the child care centre and take preventive action;
• To gain knowledge and develop skills and attitudes required for working with young children; and
• To set up, manage and work in child-care centres such as crèches, preschools, nursery schools, kindergartens and day care centres.  

Teleconferencing

Teleconferencing is a one-way video and two-way audio facility. Teleconferencing will be held every month. During teleconferencing session, you will get an opportunity to interact by phone in facility or fax with the resource persons/experts who participate in teleconferencing session and clear your doubts immediately. The teleconferencing facility will be available at the Regional Centre and Selected Study Centres. The teleconferencing schedule will be sent to the Programme In-charge and Regional Director who would inform the students. Teleconferencing is done through Gyan Darshan Channel. You must regularly attend these sessions. These will help you to clarify doubts and interact with other learners all over the country.
 

Radio Counselling

Radio counselling will be held through F.M. and you can ask questions free of cost with phone in facilities right from your home. A toll free telephone number 110012345 has been provided for this purpose. 

Telecast

The programme will also be telecasted through DD metro channel and schedule will be informed to students in advance. 

Audio-video Programme

Audio and video programmes for each course have been prepared to support your learning. These Audio-video programmes in the form of cassettes are available at all Programme Study Centres. These Audio and video cassettes will be provided for viewing and listening. You can also hire the cassettes for viewing and listening.
 

Attendance

You will be required to complete seventy-five percent attendance in theory counselling to become eligible for appearing in Term-end Examination. Similarly, you will be required to complete ninety percentattendance in practical contact sessions to become eligible for appearing in practical examination.

Continuous Evaluation of Theory Component

Assignments

Assignment is a means of continuing assessment of theory and practical. Assignments will help you to recapitulate the theory and go back to the text again in case you are unable to answer a particular question. Thus assignments also help to reinforce learning in distance learning system of education. These assignments consist of a set of questions and activities that you will answer at your own place by referring your blocks.

The assignments will cover all types of questions (long answer type, short answer type, objective type, multiple choice questions and case studies). The assignments will carry 30 percent weightage. You will be required to obtain fifty percent marks as pass percentage in each assignment separately. Each assignment will carry 100 marks. In the final result assignments will carry thirty percent weightage. 

This programme is offered in Hindi, English and Tamil.

Term-end Examination

As stated earlier, term-end examination is the major component of the evaluation system and if carries seventy percent weightage in the Final result. The University conducts term-end examination twice a year i.e., in June and December. You can take the examination only after completion of the course, failing which you can take the same in December or June of subsequent years years within the total span of the programme.

In case you fail to get a pass score in the Tern-end Examination, you will be eligible to reappear at the next Term-end Examination for that course as and when if is held, within the total span of the Programme.