One morning in Srinagar, I stepped into a school tucked quietly within my own neighborhood—a school I had passed many times without noticing, one that remained invisible not only to me but to many around. This time, I carried with me more than an observation tool—I carried a shift in perspective.
When I went for school visits as part of a need assessment exercise, I thought I would only be ticking boxes by observing infrastructure, teaching practices, and learning resources. But the more time I spent in classrooms, I realized I was carrying more than an observation checklist.
My understanding of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) did not begin in a lecture hall. It began on the ground – in the small, modest rooms of Anganwadi Centres and pre-primary classrooms across Jammu & Kashmir.
