Diyun, Jul 15: The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Changlang district, on Wednesday launched the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Anganwadi Programme at Diyun to strengthen school readiness among children aged three to six years.
The programme was inaugurated by Deputy Director, ICDS, Onyok Panyang, in the presence of Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), Bordumsa-Diyun ICDS Project, K T Tungkhang, at the Community Hall, Circuit House, Diyun.
The initiative marks the beginning of a three-year partnership between the Department of Women and Child Development, Changlang, the India Foundation for Education Transformation (IFET) and the Ugam Education Foundation to strengthen preschool education in Anganwadi Centres.
Under the programme, all 69 Anganwadi Centres in Diyun Block will be covered, with 10 centres being developed as Model Demonstration Centres to pilot intensive mentoring and best practices before expanding them across the block.
The collaboration will focus on capacity building of Anganwadi workers, continuous mentoring, development of teaching-learning materials, improvement of classroom environments, school readiness assessments and community engagement.
An orientation programme for Anganwadi workers was also organised. Sessions conducted by Prahlad, CEO of IFET, and Sanjay Jha, COO of Ugam Education Foundation, focused on early childhood development, play-based learning, school readiness, classroom management and the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi.
Addressing the gathering, Onyok Panyang stressed the importance of strengthening early childhood education alongside nutrition and health services. He assured full departmental support for successful implementation of the programme and also sensitised Anganwadi workers on child protection, the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice Act, urging them to remain vigilant and safeguard children's rights.
CDPO K T Tungkhang encouraged Anganwadi workers to make optimum use of the training and mentoring support provided under the initiative. She also emphasised regular monitoring, timely reporting and periodic reviews to ensure effective implementation.
The programme is expected to improve school readiness among young children while creating a sustainable model of quality early childhood education that can be replicated in other ICDS projects across Changlang district.