Government of Himachal Pradesh will launch early childhood care program

Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced on Thursday that the government is going to introduce a program shortly to guarantee the general development of children in the three to six age range. "This initiative highlights the state government's commitment to providing quality early childhood education and ensuring the holistic development and nurturing of the young minds in Himachal."

Under the scheme, the education department would implement a combination of all four Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) models recommended in the National Education Policy, 2020, Sukhu said.

Method of implementation

He mentioned pre-primary schools for kids as young as five or six that are co-located with current primary schools, freestanding pre-primary schools, and anganwadis and anganwadis co-located with primary schools as examples of these models. According to the chief minister, the state government presently oversees 6,297 pre-primary sections in primary schools, serving 2,377 anganwadis that are co-located with these primary schools and approximately 60,000 students.

Teachers at ECC would be involved

He said under the 'Himachal Pradesh Early Childhood Care and Education Tutor Scheme', the state government would engage ECCE tutors for all 6,297 schools, adhering to the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) norms. He reiterated the state government's commitment to improving educational accessibility by ensuring quality education closer to students' homes, announcing that the recruitment of various categories of teachers will commence soon to prevent any disruption in studies due to teacher shortages.