By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI:The guidelines for setting up Anganwadi centres along with primary schools at one place were launched by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smt. Annapurna Devi at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The guidelines emphasize the importance of setting up Anganwadi and school on one campus as per the recommendations of the new National Education Policy and early childhood care and education through an integrated model.
In this event, organized by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Union Minister Shri Pradhan congratulated the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women and Child Development for such an innovative initiative. He said that it will be a successful step towards realizing the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of laying a strong foundation for the human capital of ‘Developed India’. The goal of Developed India will be achieved when we take care of 100 percent pregnant women, newborns and school going children in the coming days.
On this occasion, Shri Pradhan has proposed to the Ministry of Women, Child Development and Education to prepare a module for Anganwadi Didis who have not studied up to +2 and wish to study further. He said that AI and other technologies have made life easier in the world. Therefore, we should focus on building the future of children using AI. Our Anganwadi Didis are the first teachers of children and through AI, education in Indian languages will be made easier. In the next 3 years, broadband internet connections will be provided to about 2 lakh private and government high schools in India. According to the latest data from ASAR and PARKH reports, the educational outcomes of children in villages have been better than those in cities. This unprecedented success is a reflection of the hard work of our Anganwadi Didis. At present, our responsibility is to take proper care of about 15 crore children of the country, take care of their health, then by 2047, the dream of a developed India and a skilled India will be realized, said Shri Pradhan.
Notably, the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education have issued guidelines for setting up schools and Anganwadi centres in a single campus. This initiative is an important step towards realizing the Prime Minister’s vision of building a strong human resource base for a developed India. Under the National Education Policy, these guidelines emphasize the importance of setting up Anganwadi centres and schools in a single campus and early childhood care and education through an integrated model. There are already more than 2.9 lakh Anganwadi centres in school campuses across India. Therefore, these guidelines will provide the necessary clarity regarding the management and will help in taking this model forward in an effective manner in the states and union territories.
The event was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Department of Education and Literacy, representatives of both the departments of the State/Union Territory and Anganwadi workers.
