Ranchi, Jharkhand | October | 30, 2021 :: The importance of Early Childhood Education in setting the foundation of learning and psycho-social wellbeing is being much emphasized by governments and international agencies alike. Global research indicates that, children who go through positive, engaging and encouraging experiences within their homes and in ECD centers or Anganwadi kendras in the first 6 years of their life are less vulnerable to psycho-social problems, addiction, or self-harm. Such children are much more likely to complete the cycle of Education and make successful transition from adolescence to adult life.
Thus, the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Security has developed a comprehensive early education curriculum titled ‘Nanhe Kadam’ in light of National ECCE Policy, NCERT guidelines and National Education Policy 2020 recommendations.
The honorable Minister, Department of Women and Child Development and Social Security, Mrs. Joba Majhi inaugurated the new curriculum, which has been developed with support from UNICEF. Mr. Anjaneyulu Dodde, Director-Social Welfare; Ms. Kiran Kumari Pasi- State Project Director, JEPC; Mr. Prasanta Dash, Chief, UNICEF Jharkhand; Ms. Parul Sharma, Education Specialist, UNICEF were present on the occasion along with district level WCD officials.
The honorable Minister, Department of Women and Child Development and Social Security, Mrs. Joba Majhi, appreciated the hard work that went into development of this comprehensive curriculum which specifies exact details of the academic activities to be conducted each day in the AWC. She committed to provide relevant support and resources for successful implementation of this curriculum.
Anjaneyulu Dodde, Director, WCD emphasized on strengthening monitoring at the field level for ensuring implementation of this unique curriculum. He also said that COVID has caused unprecedented loss in terms of livelihood opportunities and overall wellbeing which may impact young children adversely. Hence, serious measures need to be planned to address nutrition and early learning related loss.
Mr. Prasanta Dash, Chief, UNICEF Jharkhand emphasized on need for holistic planning to ensure that nutrition, health, psycho-social well- being and education go hand in hand to provide a solid foundation in early years, he also emphasized the importance of investments in early years which may help bring better health and education outcomes in future.
Ms. Kiran Kumari Pasi State Project Director, Jharkhand Education Project Council emphasized on the role of convergence between Education and Women and Child Development Departments to maximize gains for young children, especially in light of the New Education Policy -2020. She elaborated that the Department of Education is developing a roadmap on foundational learning which will allow both the departments to look at early years as a continuum.
Education Specialist, UNICEF, Mrs. Parul Sharma shared about the efforts put in by WCD staff and experts in designing a realistic and contextual curriculum which is in line with global research and evidence as well as national and state context.
