BENGALURU: Anganwadi workers, employed by the Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD), who take care of the nutritional needs of children below six years of age and pregnant women in the state, feel overworked and underpaid, and now with the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) and creches, they fear the end of their professional existence.
“Twice a month, we ensure provisions reach those who have children below six years of age at home. Once a month, we hold mothers’ meeting to motivate early parents to maintain hygiene for their children and ensure nutrition is given to them,” said Lakshmi (name changed) an anganwadi worker in the city.
She is among the other workers who fear that if creches are introduced in the state for children below three years of age, as budgeted in the urban anganwadi’s, it will take a toll on other duties towards teaching and nutrition. Besides, there is not enough physical place in anganwadis to accommodate toddlers and young children of ages 3-6 years, she added.
The workers are asking the government to consider shifting the creches outside the anganwadis due to several constraints. A source privy to the department’s working told The New Indian Express that while presently anganwadis teach children from 3-6 years of age, there were plans to absorb children of 4-6 years into the preparatory classes like the NEP suggested. The education department will design their curriculum. This leaves children of ages 3-4 with the DWCD department.
Laxmi said, if that is the case, this will leave the anganwadis with fewer than 10 children. “Will the government really let us keep their jobs for Rs 10,000?” she questioned. Further, Laxmi says -- an approximate of 20 percent anganwadi workers have not cleared their 10th standard. While NEP says there is provision to train these teachers too for a year and absorb them in preparatory classes under Early Childhood Care and education of the NEP, she says that the department is yet to pass orders that these teachers too will be trained.
“Surveys are being conducted, to know who can be the beneficiaries of these creches and tallying the number of children between the age group of 0-6 , 6-1 and 1-2 years of age and so on,” said a source.
HS Sunanda, State General Secretary of Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers’ Association, said that if the NEP is implemented for pre-primary levels and anganwadis have to be attached to an education cluster, the distance to travel to one will impede parents from sending their children. “Even if a vehicle is arranged from a central point, there is still a gap between homes to the central point,” she added.