VIJAYAWADA: The State Education Department is exploring possibilities of converting all Anganawadis in the State into pre-primary schools from the next academic year. As part of the new education policy, it was decided to convert Anganwadis into pre-primary schools and introduce foundation courses for children.
According to ofnficials, though the department has tried to integrate Anganwadis in pre-primary schools earlier this year, there was a delay due to technical reasons. From the next academic year, all Anganwadis will be merged with the nearby pre-primary schools and named as YSR Pre-primary Schools.
The department has already completed the mapping of Anganwadis near the schools in all the districts. Arrangements are being made to extend full-fledged digital teaching to one or two classes for foundation courses.
Anganwadis with their own buildings will be converted into pre-primary schools. The Anganwadis, which are functioning in rented buildings, will be merged with the nearby government schools. Although the merger process has already started, it was not taken up in a full-fledged manner. Steps are being taken to complete the merger before the the new academic year in July.
In all, 55,604 Anganwadis across the State will be merged with the nearest schools. A senior official told TNIE that the government will take steps to avoid difficulties to the teachers and helpers working in the Anganwadis during the merger. At present, there are two teachers in a primary school and after the merger, the Anganwadi teachers will also be appointed there.
The Anganwadi teachers should shoulder the responsibility of the healthcare of students, besides fulfilling basic teaching responsibilities. “It seems that the government is planning to give promotions to qualified Anganwadi teachers in the future. Necessary training will be given to Anganwadi teachers and they will be considered as secondary grade teachers,” he said. The helpers in the Anganwadis will be used for mid-day meal preparation.
Summer vacation from May 6
Summer vacation for schools in the state will begin from May 6. The new academic year will begin on July 4. Orders in this regard were issued by the School Education Commissioner S Suresh Kumar on Saturday. Class X examinations will be held from April 27 to May 9. Meanwhile, the authorities also made all arrangements to conduct the Summative-2 exams from Class I to Class IX from April 22 to May 4.