Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Anganwadis in Madhya Pradesh will soon also function as preschools. Women and Child Development (WCD) and School Education Departments are jointly working on preparation of a syllabus for children enrolled in Anganwadis, expected to be ready by March this year.
The objective is to use Anganwadis to provide basic skills training and early education to children before they enter formal schooling at age six. Centre has issued guidelines titled Aadharshila for children in age group of 3–6 years and Nav Chetna for children below three years for initiative.
Based on these guidelines, both departments are jointly drafting syllabus for Anganwadis. Rajya Shiksha Kendra (RSK) has been assigned responsibility for preparing curriculum. A WCD official said syllabus is likely to be ready by March. Same syllabus will also be used by School Education Department in Balwadis run by it.
Apart from syllabus preparation, Anganwadi workers will need training for their expanded role before programme is implemented. First round of training was conducted in March last year and additional rounds will follow.
Training and syllabus will enable Anganwadi workers to assess whether cognitive development of children is appropriate for their age. “Workers will be able to determine whether mental and cognitive skills of children are normal for their age and, if not, take corrective measures,” official said.
The state government runs 97,329 Anganwadis across Madhya Pradesh, with around 63 lakh children enrolled. At present, Anganwadis function primarily as centres for monitoring and promoting health and nutritional status of children below six years, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls.
It is now proposed to develop these centres into preschools under Central government initiative Poshan Bhi Padhayee Bhi (nutrition as well as education). States were asked to implement initiative launched by Union government in 2023.
