Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi, Oct.30: State women and child development and social security minister Joba Majhi today inaugurated the new curriculum, Nanhe Kadam, which has been developed with support from UNICEF.
Social welfare director Anjaneyulu Dodde, JPEC State Project Director Kiran Kumari Pasi-UNICEF Jharkhand chief Prasanta Dash and UNICEF education specialist Parul Sharma were present on the occasion along with district-level WCD officials.
Majhi while inaugurating the curriculum appreciated the hard work that went into the 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 the successful implementation of this curriculum.
WCD director Dodde emphasized strengthening monitoring at the field level for ensuring the implementation of this unique curriculum. He also said that COVID has caused an 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.
UNICEF Jharkhand chief Dash emphasized on the 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.
State project director of Jharkhand Education Project Council, Passi, emphasized 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.
UNICEF education specialist Sharma shared about the efforts put in by WCD staff and experts in designing a realistic and contextual curriculum that is in line with global research and evidence as well as national and state context.
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 ‘NanheKadam’ in light of National ECCE Policy, NCERT guidelines and National Education Policy 2020 recommendations.
