Chief Medical Officer of Health, Vadodara
Through Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), a curriculum of structured materials, quality education is being provided to the children in the pre-primary schools will be implemented at Anganwadi centres of Vadodara, says Devesh M Patel, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Vadodara, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
Give us an outline on early childhood care and education initiatives being implemented in the Anganwadi centres?
The Government of Gujarat in collaboration with UNICEF has included Anganwadis of Vadodara in its project Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). Through ECCE, a curriculum of structured materials, a quality education being provided to the children in the pre-primary schools will also be implemented at the centres.
The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is in the process of installing television and computer sets including other infrastructure required for the full functioning of the project at the centres. The curriculum has been designed in the form of animations and audiovisuals, to help children enhance their cognitive learning. The motive of the move is to make Anganwadi children competent enough for taking classes at schools.
When will the ECCE project kickstart at Anganwadi centres? What kind of initiatives will be taken to train Anganwadi teachers with the latest technology?
The project will be facilitated at about 350 centres, and will gradually cover all 400 centres. Our Anganwadi workers are already trained by UNICEF. However, in order to make them apt with the curriculum, the team who has designed the animation with the help of audiovisual materials will also train them.
What is the student strength of Anganwadi centres in Vadodara? What subjects will be covered as part of the curriculum?
The registered children in the Anganwadi centres between the age of 0-6 years old is around 60,000, of which 35,000 children fall under the age group of 3-6 years. The curriculum will cover the children of the latter group of age. It will cover all subjects which are being taught at the private pre-primary schools, i.e., alphabets, numbers, stories, etc. The module has been prepared in such a manner so that it can be imparted on a daily basis.
For instance, everyday the classes will resume with a prayer and everyday, different topics will be taught. Also, tests and backup sessions will be conducted, similar to what is being followed at any private pre-primary school.
WE HAVE A MOBILE APPLICATION CALLED SMART ANGANWADI TO TRACK THE PROGRESS AND DAYS DUTIES OF ANGANWADI WORKERS. ACTIVITIES RELATED TO DELIVERY AND CONSUMPTION OF MILK, FRUIT AND SWEETS, PROGRESS OF KIDS ON MONTHLY BASIS (WEIGHT AND HEIGHT), ETC, ARE REGULARLY MONITORED THROUGH THIS APP.
Give a brief account on the economic and education background of the children in Anganwadi of Vadodara.
Anganwadis in Vadodara are mostly centered in the slum or slum-like areas. The parents of these children earn less than Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per month. For these children, we have nutrition, healthcare and other programmes associated for their benefit. However, a proper educational pattern was missing. Hence, by introducing a curriculum through the ECCE, education will receive a major boost in line with what other preprimary school children are getting.
Vadodara Municipal Corporation has also launched a mobilebased application of Anganwadi workers. Kindly explain.
We have a mobile application called Smart Anganwadi to track the progress and days duties of Anganwadi workers. Activities related to delivery and consumption of milk, fruit and sweets, progress of kids on monthly basis (weight and height), etc, are regularly monitored through this app. Every Anganwadi worker through their smartphone, update their daily duties so that we can monitor the functioning of the whole system.
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