ACCHA project to strengthen early childhood education in Andhra Pradesh, says official

Women Development and Child Welfare Department Principal Secretary A. Surya Kumari on Friday said that the Andhralo Chinnarula Chaduvulu (ACCHA) project would bring a major transformation in the functioning of anganwadi centres in Andhra Pradesh by improving the quality of early childhood education.

Speaking after the launch of the programme in Vijayawada, she described anganwadi workers as the backbone of government welfare delivery and appreciated their efforts in taking benefits to the last-mile beneficiaries, despite several challenges.

Addressing anganwadi workers and officials, Ms. Surya Kumari said the staff were handling multiple responsibilities every day, including bringing children to centres, preparing meals, maintaining records and interacting with parents.

She said while institutional deliveries had become widely accepted over the years, similar confidence should now be built among parents toward Anganwadi centres. Although nearly 11 to 12 lakh children were expected to attend the centres, only around 8 to 8.5 lakh were currently enrolled, she said, expressing hope that the numbers would improve gradually.

Advising parents to spend more quality time with children instead of remaining occupied with mobile phones, she also urged NGOs and voluntary organisations to work in coordination with the government so that uniform standards in training and education could be maintained across centres. The government was taking measures to reduce the workload of Anganwadi staff by providing facilities such as induction stoves in some districts, she informed and called upon Anganwadi workers to coordinate with ASHA workers, ANMs and village sarpanches to improve the functioning of centres beyond routine ICDS activities.

NTR District Collector G. Lakshmisha said noticeable progress had been achieved in Anganwadi services across the district, except in a few aspirational blocks where further support was being planned with assistance from NITI Aayog.

Women Development and Child Welfare Department Director M. Venugopal Reddy said nutritional and early childhood education services were being provided through 55,746 Anganwadi centres in the State. He said ACCHA initiative was launched with an aim to enhance learning through play-based methods and strengthening the skills of Anganwadi workers.

The project, initially launched in Kuppam as a pilot initiative, is now being expanded across Andhra Pradesh with support from various foundations and NGOs. Earlier, the logo and brochures of the ACCHA project were unveiled during the programme.