Contributor : Profile

Dr Venita Kaul is Professor and Director of School of Education Studies and Founder Director of Center for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED) at the Ambedkar University, Delhi, which is a State university. CECED is a centre for policy research, capacity building, advocacy and networking in ECED, which has, in the short span of four years, established its professional capability and reputation as a resource institution through several significant research and extension projects, including a longitudinal research on ECCE which is the first of its kind for the South Asian region. Prior to this assignment, Prof. Kaul was a Senior Education Specialist at World Bank for over 10 years. During her tenure, she led several education projects in the South Asian Region. Before joining the World Bank, Prof Kaul served in the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for over 20 years and took early retirement from the position of Professor and Head of Department of Preschool and Elementary Education.

Prof. Kaul has been a member of several Committees of the government in an advisory capacity, including on the National Advisory Committee constituted by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to advise on the implementation of Right To Education (2010); Working Group constituted by Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to advise on development of National Policy on ECCE (2010); and a member of the  Committee constituted by MHRD to oversee functioning of the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) which is a statutory body of the government to regulate teacher education in the country. She is currently an expert member on the Intergrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Advisory Council and also a member of the NCTE Council. She has also been Chairperson of the committee set up to develop the norms and standards for the Diploma in preschool Education notified recently by NCTE. At the international level, she has been a member of the Steering Group of Asia Pacific Regional Network for ECD and is an invited member of the Forum for Investing in the Young Child. She is also on the Boards of a number of well known NGOs working in the area of education including Pratham, Mobile Creches and Sesame Street (India). Prof. Kaul has several national and international publications in the area of early education to her credit.