SIF Initiative Further Improves Quality of Early Childhood Education in Mumbai
The five-year Singapore International Foundation (SIF) project came to a close, benefitting about 45,000 educators and students in Maharashtra.
Thousands of children between three and eight years old in Maharastra now receive better education, as a result of the SIF’s Early Childhood Education Curriculum Enhancement and Pedagogy Project. The project was organised with Muktangan Education Trust, a non-profit organisation that supports municipal schools in Mumbai.
The cross-border initiative started in 2017 and aimed to enhance the early childhood education (ECE) curriculum and the capabilities of teachers in the field in Mumbai.
Over five years, a team of Singapore International Volunteers (SIVs) comprising 32 educators, engaged with 700 educators in Mumbai to exchange knowledge, skills, and experience. The project comprised a series of online and in-person train-the-trainer workshops, a study visit, and a symposium.
As a result, 39 Indian Master Trainers were equipped with the skills and knowledge to train other ECE educators. At least 3,400 of them learned how to improve curricula and picked up new teaching and assessment skills. A total of about 45,000 educators and students in Maharashtra benefitted from this project.
The project closed with a ceremony and a symposium on 21 November 2022 in Mumbai. About 150 guests, including SIVs, project participants and representatives from Muktangan attended the event.
They included Shri Nand Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, Mr Cheong Ming Foong, Consul-General of the Republic of Singapore in Mumbai, Mr Ng Herk Low, SIF Division Director, Mr Sunil Mehta, Chairman and Managing Trustee of Muktangan Education Trust, and Mrs Elizabeth S Mehta, Founder of Muktangan Education Trust.
(From left) Mr Ng Herk Low, SIF Division Director, Mr Cheong Ming Foong, Shri Nand Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, Mrs Elizabeth S Mehta, Founder of Muktangan Education Trust, and Mr Sunil Mehta, Chairman and Managing Trustee of Muktangan Education Trust.
Speaking at the event, Mr Ng said: “Early childhood education is an essential building block of a child’s growth. We are privileged to have worked with Muktangan Education Trust on this initiative to help ensure that children in Mumbai have access to quality formative education. We look forward to more opportunities to jointly uplift lives and build a better world.”
The completion of the project marks another milestone in the 26-year friendship between the SIF and India. Since 1995, the SIF has been bringing Singaporeans and Indians together to work on shared challenges at the people-to-people level.
