Rs. 579.20 crore allocated under ECCE/Pre-School Kit for five years under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
New Delhi: Pre-school Kit/ECCE is one of the sub-components of Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. An amount of Rs. 579.20 crore has been allocated under ECCE/Pre-School Kit for five years period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
As on 30th June, 2022, 3.03 crore children in the age group of 3-6 years have access to Early Childhood Children Education (ECCE) through Anganwadi Centres. The Scheme Guidelines on `Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0′, covers the above requirements for pre-school learning to make all pre-schoolers at Anganwadi Centres, school ready.
To promote play based, experiential and child friendly approach to development, a National Curricular Framework for ECCE was developed by Government to support the holistic development of children for Sensory and Perceptual Development; Physical, Health and Motor Development; Language Development; Cognitive Development; Development of Creative and Aesthetic Appreciation and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. At a national level, a series of sample activity books were developed to support the above domains, separately for ages 3 to 4, 4 to 5 and 5 to 6. Anganwadis are also provided with Pre-School Education Learning Kits to support children’s development. The ECCE Policy also recommends promotion of the use of traditional songs, stories, lullabies, folk tales, local toys and games as play and learning material in ECCE settings. Assessment cards were developed for Anganwadi workers for formative and continuous assessment of children’s progress on a quarterly basis with separate cards for children in each age group.
Under National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, for universal access to ECCE, there is provision to roll-out ECCE in all the AWCs, with strengthening of Anganwadi Centres, high-quality infrastructure, play equipment and well trained Anganwadi Workers for an enriched learning environment. An Expert Committee set up by the Ministry to recommend age appropriate curriculum for children in the age group of 3-6 years, has submitted its report. The focus of the curriculum is on early stimulation (0-3 years) and early childhood care and education ECCE (3-6 years).