There is a global trend towards formal approaches to preschool education. This article explores the tension between formal and non-formal approaches in the context of India, through a discussion of the preschool programme of the Government of India's Integrated Child Development Services that targets disadvantaged children, and private nursery schools that operate on a commercial basis. Although a non-formal approach is endorsed by experts as best for children in both settings, it has little support in actual practice. In the competitive context of Indian schools, many parents opt to provide their children with an early headstart on formal instruction.
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