United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will partner with the Women Development and Child Welfare (WDCW) Department in Andhra Pradesh to positively influence policies and programmes for children’s education, UNICEF Education Specialist for Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, Sheshagiri Madhusudhan said.
In an interview with K Kalyan Krishna Kumar, the official explained UNICEF’s plan of action to formulate policies with the WDCW to support the implementation of a leadership programme for mid-level Child Development Project Officers (CDPO) in seven erstwhile districts, covering 75 CDPOs. For 2023, we are looking to add the component of children with special needs (CWSN) to the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, he noted.
Excerpts from the interview
What are the measures being taken for the implementation of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) programme of UNICEF in Andhra Pradesh?
We have developed digital platforms, including mobile applications for parents, to improve their involvement in their child’s learning. Besides, a programme called ‘Meenakka Muchatlu’ is being developed. Through this, simple and short audio messages will be sent to parents on WhatsApp, so they can support their child’s foundational learning at home. Similarly, a platform for community volunteers has been developed to identify and train them to support a child’s foundational learning after school hours. We are hoping to enrol the staff from Village and Ward Secretariats in this initiative as community-level volunteers.
What steps is UNICEF taking for Adolescent and Secondary Education in AP?
The organisation is working closely with the education department to strengthen Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in the State. Through a hub and spoke model that involves selected ATLs in all districts, UNICEF hopes to demonstrate the idea of ‘tinkering’, which promotes design thinking among children and teachers. A total of 35-40 ATLs, which operate via face-to-face and online capacity-building modes, have been chosen as hub schools for this programme. The hub schools will act as learning labs for other ATL schools in their districts.
Please explain how UNICEF’s Career Portal works?
UNICEF has developed a career portal which has updated information on nearly 500 careers for children of Classes IX to XII. Over two lakh children have registered on the portal and we are looking to strengthen it and make it more dynamic.
How do you plan on reaching out to the children through the Pillala Vinodam project?
A chatbot has been developed to disseminate a hundred audio stories based on themes such as gender, water conservation, child marriage, cleanliness and hygiene to parents and teachers. These stories, both Telugu and English, have been shared with the education as well as with WDCW officials. UNICEF has also developed a simple teacher’s manual for the effective use of these stories, linking them with the syllabus and textbook content.
How you are going to identify and mainstream Out Of School Children (OOSC) under your new project?
UNICEF has developed a simple app and portal which enables a systematic identification and tracking of out-of-school children, eventually mainstreaming them. This has been successfully implemented in five other States. The app will be taken up by Samagra Shiksha and begin its operations in AP soon after the IT cell hands over information on out-of-school children. A presentation of the app to the education officials was completed on September 13 and their suggestions were also incorporated in it.
What does UNICEF do for the prevention of child abuse in schools?
UNICEF’s Balsuraksha app is set to be introduced in AP to create awareness among children, teachers and parents on child sexual abuse and exploitation and its prevention. At the same time, UNICEF has contributed to the development of guidelines on school safety. For 2023 and beyond, all the initiatives will be consolidated and UNICEF is open to addressing emerging educational needs in the State.