The Meghalaya government is set to upgrade 2,000 Anganwadi centres into Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres to enhance early care through improved facilities and targeted training. Principal Secretary and Development Commissioner Sampath Kumar while informing about the initiative, asserted that the state is collaborating with top architects to design innovative centres that provide young children with enriched learning environments.
Following a stakeholder review meeting on Monday, Kumar informed the media, “We actually have a massive program to upgrade all the Anganwadi centers as ECD centers, in the sense, like they will be able to provide better learning experience for the children when they go to Anganwadi centers. So far we have naturally taking some very top architects think about it very innovative designs, how actually the Anganwadi center can provide such kind of a learning environment and again these centers will be constructed with the help of the Community and Rural Development Department.”
With support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and implementation through MGNREGS, these centres will be upgraded with enhanced health, nutrition, and educational resources.
Kumar added, “While we aim to eventually upgrade all centres, but the under this particular mission now in the next two years we are going to upgrade two thousand centers.”
Kumar also highlighted Meghalaya’s pioneering role, noting, “Meghalaya is the first state to launch a comprehensive Early Childhood Development Mission to provide improved nutrition, health, and education for children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.”
This mission involves partnerships across health, social welfare, education, and rural development departments, along with training initiatives to support better nutrition and health. “To promote effective breastfeeding and combat stunting, we are training mothers using techniques developed with IIT Bombay’s guidance. These scientific methods ensure better milk transfer, supporting healthy weight gain in infants,” Kumar said.
Additionally, the state has partnered with UMMEED to train Anganwadi workers and ASHA functionaries on monitoring child development.
The Principal Secretary noted, “Through UMMEED, we’re introducing very interesting tools for frontline workers like Ashas and Anganwadis, they are going to be trained on how to monitor the child’s development, so that there are no development difficulties. These children, especially if you identify children with a development difficulties at an early stage you can actually help them to overcome that.”
This comprehensive approach aims to lay a robust foundation for early childhood care, benefiting families across Meghalaya.