PG Diploma in Early Childhood Education at Azim Premji University

About the Programme

The PG Diploma in Early Childhood Education is a 12-month, part-time programme for working professionals who care for or teach children aged 3 to 8. It strengthens their understanding of holistic child development and their day-to-day practice, in line with India's National Education Policy 2020. The programme blends theory with practice and is built from four stackable certificates, so participants can take one certificate on its own or complete all four for the full diploma.

Eligibility

• A genuine interest in working with young children.
• At least two years of relevant work experience.
• Open to practising school teachers, special educators, counsellors, and school heads in private and public schools, as well as ECE professionals such as curriculum designers, ECE coordinators, preschool entrepreneurs, and NGO professionals working on education programmes.

Curriculum Overview

• Certificate 1, Early Childhood Education: Development and Learning in the Early Years: key concepts and policies in ECE, and the developmental characteristics and theories behind how children aged 3 to 8 grow and learn.
• Certificate 2, Curriculum and Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education: designing curriculum for physical, cognitive, and early maths development through play-based learning, plus curriculum for social development, language, and early literacy.
• Certificate 3, Early Identification, Intervention and Inclusion: inclusion strategies such as Universal Design for Learning, and how to spot and support atypical development from birth to age 8 in partnership with families.
• Certificate 4, Programme Management and Professional Development in Early Childhood Education: planning, managing, and evaluating ECE programmes, and growing as a reflective, self-motivated educator.

Programme Highlights

• Online classes held live twice a week, with collaborative projects, workshops, and discussions.
• One on-campus week per certificate at the Bengaluru campus, with hands-on activities, case studies, and time with academics and field experts.
• Flexible structure, students can take a single certificate, or take the full diploma while attending just two of the four on-campus weeks and doing alternative assignments for the rest.
• An optional fourth certificate choice between Inclusive Education and Teaching Children with Learning Disabilities.
• Faculty who combine academic expertise with hands-on ECE practice.

Career Pathways

• Responds to the growing demand for skilled early childhood educators under NEP 2020.
• Helps practitioners make a bigger impact in their current workplace and strengthens career prospects.
• Prepares graduates to set up or manage their own small-scale ECE programmes.
• Access to the university's alumni network.

Fees & Financial Aid

• Full diploma: INR 75,000 tuition, plus INR 12,000 for accommodation (both including GST).
• Taking a single certificate instead costs INR 20,000 tuition plus INR 3,000 accommodation, the same for all four certificates: Early Childhood Education: Development and Learning in the Early Years, Curriculum and Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education, Early Identification, Intervention and Inclusion, and Programme Management and Professional Development in Early Childhood Education.
• Food and travel costs aren't stated on the source page.