KOCHI: The term Anganwadi often conjures up image of a congested school building having bare minimum facilities; one where children eat, sleep and study in a single room. However, such images will soon be replaced by those of well-designed buildings that encompass the modern idea of a nursery school in a rural area, thanks to ‘smart Anganwadi.
Four smart Anganwadis are being built in Ernakulam while many others are being upgraded to smart category. The district has 2,858 Anganwadis in total.
“Many of these are operating in rented buildings and lack sufficient facilities required for the overall development of children. The Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched the initiative to help local self-government bodies like panchayats and municipalities to transform Anganwadis in their areas into smart Anganwadis,” said an official with the WCD.
She said four smart Anganwadis are being built in Ernakulam district with the joint effort of the panchayats and state government. “The designs for these smart Anganwadis have been developed by the College of Architecture in Thiruvananthapuram. Six designs have been approved as of now,” said the official.
The Anganwadi are being designed to suit the geographical location and the designs take land availability into consideration, she said. “There is a design for a building that can be constructed on 10 cents. Similarly, there are designs for 7.5 cents, 5 cents, 3 cents (normal), 3 cents sloping and even 1.25 cents,” she said.
The Anganwadis will have a garden housing colourful flowers and playing host to butterflies, besides brightly-coloured furniture pasted with appealing images that create a child-friendly environment. The two-storey building would incorporate a study room, lounge, dining, kitchen, store room, indoor and outdoor play areas with artificial grass, garden, toys and a hall.
The official admitted that it is not possible to construct smart buildings for all Anganwadis in the district. “Land availability is a big issue. However, the WCD and the panchayats concerned are trying to identify land to construct Anganwadis for shifting the ones operating in rented facilities,” said the official.
She said the Smart Anganwadi project is being implemented in phases by replacing regular structures with more modern ones.
“Besides the funding provided by the state government, a total of Rs 5.74 crore is being sourced from panchayats in the state,” she said. Recently, 32 Anganwadis in Vazhakulam block panchayat were upgraded to smart category. The WCD official said each year, local bodies set aside money in their plan funds for the development of Anganwadi. “They also submit proposals for the same,” she said.
While the Anganwadis are going the smart route, there has been a drop in the number of new students joining them this academic year compared to the last.
“In the 2022-23 academic year, over 14,000 children sought admissions by May and another 7,000 joined in November. This year, around 13,000 joined in May. We expect good numbers of admissions in November,” said an official with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).