In 1984 the Archdiocesan Board of Education supervising all the convent schools in the metropolis listed SIES as one of the 3 recognized institutions besides Sophia Polytechnic & Nirmala Niketan. The trained teachers were considered to be put on grade if they had undergone training in anyone of these institutes.
The year 1993 was a landmark year when the university took upon the task of recognizing pre-primary education, by then globally known as Early Childhood Education. Since then, the Institute has been offering the university affiliated programme titled Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education, as well as our own autonomous programme.
The credibility of the programme can be gauged by the statement made publicly by Dr.Passi, the then Vice Chairman of NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education), a national body formed by an act of parliament to regulate all the teacher education colleges in the country, when he reiterated his surprise & amazement that the institute diploma had double the number of students enrolled compared to the students enrolled for the university. He also praised the management for instituting such a need-based programme.
The Institute epitomizes futuristic need-based learning by integrating diverse activities. After we evaluate, necessary modifications are carried out resulting in the best of experiences & activities to hone professional skills.
In the year 1998, to cater to the needs of the society, counselling programme was devised and thus we embarked upon the Post Graduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling, which got affiliated to the University of Mumbai in the year 2000.
With the popularity of the programme, the only one of its kind recognized by Mumbai University, there were requests from several quarters to offer short term - part-time programmes. Thus, we started the Certificate in Counselling, Advanced Certificate in Counselling, Counselling Skills for Professionals and Introduction to Counselling Approaches.
In the year 2000 Remedial Education was launched initially as a 3-month program for teachers & counsellors. On evaluating the strength of the programme at the end of the course, we felt the course should be conducted for a period of 6 months duration.
In 2001 the University declared that in order to meet educational standards, the period of study for the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education would be two years.
In 2005, the programme was offered as a one year Post Graduate Diploma in Special Education with more inputs on all the disabilities with intense practicum & theory.
The year 2005 also was the launch pad for the one year Post Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education (PGDECE). With five students on roll in 2005, we have grown to accommodate not more than 30 students. This is a very popular program which has a right mix of not only teacher training but also that of research, practicum, counselling and special education components.
In 2007, the Post Graduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling (PGDGC) program that was dormant for a while got activated and the status was revived.
In 2012, the university reviewed and restructured the curriculum for the two-year Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education by way of a syllabus revision.
2014 saw the shift in training online, when we collaborated with Drishti for the six-month program €" Mainstreaming Children with Special Education Needs under the RTE. It was a dream come true for the institution as it embarked upon the online trajectory.
The Bridge course titled Online SEN Bridge Course in Teaching Students with Learning & Behaviour Difficulties started in the year 2015 to bridge the theory-practice gap and empower application of the knowledge in the classroom setup with children having Special Education Needs.
The year 2016 was a defining moment in the history of our Institute. Another branch was started in the sprawling Nerul campus with the launch of the Nerul Institute of Comprehensive Education and ICE met NICE. We started with the Teacher Education programs and slowly diversified into Counselling and Online Special Education programs.
Tech Mahindra Foundation (TMF) the CSR wing of Tech Mahindra opened vistas for empowerment of youth by partnering with SIES Institute of Comprehensive Education to provide skill-based training for young women from the underprivileged sections.
The seeds for creating SMART skills and empowerment of youth unfolded with our three-year partnership from 2017- 20 with the SIES ICE €" TMF DECD program. The program offered sponsorship by way of monetary support for training for girls and women in the age group of 18-35 years to provide empowerment and financial independence.
In 2019, in accordance with our Institute's philosophy to empower learners, Drishti curated specific need-based learning modules in partnership with SIES NICE. The two additional online certificate courses were Short learning Certificate Courses (SLCC) and Professional Development Certificate (PDCC).
In the year 2020, education needed to permeate into homes virtually owing to the COVID pandemic. A failure is not a setback but a stepping-stone for opportunity. We spread our wings taking teacher training globally with the launch of a six-month Certificate in Early Childhood Development (CECED). Our students ranged from the city of Mumbai to Assam to United Arab Emirates.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep and I have promises to keep. Miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep€ said Robert Frost. We at SIES have many programs and plans in the anvil. With each passing day and year, new annals are added to history, and we are proud to be part of that!!
