Anganwadi preschools in Jhansi get a facelift

JHANSI: It is dream come true for six-year-old Mahesh Ahirwar of village Banka Pahari falling under Gursarain block of the district to see his otherwise drab anganwadi school to get transformed into a modern and splashy classroom. With vibrant and splashy painted walls and colorful furniture it now looks no less than a private school.
Not only this one, but hundred such preschools running in various anganwadis across the district have undergone complete transformation in the recent pandemic days under BaLA - Building as Learning Aid scheme.
BaLA is meant to transform these anganwadis so that each and every corner of the building including the furniture can also be used as an education tool while making it attractive and enhancing activity based learning.
As per Chief Development Officer CDO Jhansi, Shailesh Kumar, “Since buildings are the most expensive physical asset of a school, efforts have been made to derive maximum out of it. In addition we have used vibrant colours to attract children for coming to school. We have incurred around Rs 60-70 thousand per school for its rejuvenation programme. Since the schools are yet to reopen, we are waiting to observe the acceptance level of the children and their parents.”
Talking to TOI, DM Jhansi, Andra Vamsi said, “The drive to rejuvenate these anganwadis is to attract more and more children for schooling by deriving the maximum output from the exterior, interior, outdoor spaces and structures of the building by modifying them innovatively and thus involving the kids towards creative learning. This will also help in promoting activity based learning and inclusive education for children with special needs.”