The Corporation has come up with a novel project to reinvent the Anganwadis within the Corporation limits. The project involves collecting data regarding the institutions from the workers and helpers there and using the data to analyse what went wrong with the institutions.
75 questions
The Corporation has framed a questionnaire of 75 questions for the Anganwadi staff regarding the infrastructural facilities, surroundings, treatment of children, limitations in the curriculum, quality of teachers, activities undertaken, interaction with local people and superiors, parent-teacher interaction, their opinions on how the activities in Anganwadis should be modified, and the development process of the toddlers. The questionnaire will be distributed from December 15.
“The Anganwadis that played a major role in the development of a child for a long time have now been reduced to day-care centres for poor children. Even with Anganwadis functioning at walking distance, people often choose to send their children to high-profile play schools and kindergartens,” Corporation welfare standing committee chairperson M. Radhakrishnan said, and added that the Corporation was ready to go to any extent to give a new face to the Anganwadis and make them more attractive.
At first, one Anganwadi in each ward will be developed as a model and the rest will follow. The welfare standing committee is engaged in a study, in association with DIET, as part of the Comprehensive Child Welfare programme. The Corporation plans to offer all infrastructural facilities to the Anganwadis such as healthy surroundings, playing and activity space, good food and drinking water, and a good study environment.
The children should feel safe at the Anganwadis and earn enough skills to prepare themselves for school education. The quality of the workers and helpers will be increased through training sessions. Anganwadis will be developed as an effective substitute to popular pre-primary education and public cooperation will be ensured in the effort, the Corporation’s study says.
