Launch of SHIKSHA Aarambh Program July 2023
SHIKSHA Initiative has started experimenting and designing an effective program for foundational stage teaching and learning by harnessing ICT and deploying conducive pedagogical approaches for early learners, i.e. 3 to 6 years. The journey began in December 2021 with a need assessment which included a survey of 282 Anganwadi Centres (AWC) comprising 1670 respondents, physical visits to AWCs and private pre-primary facilities, interaction with concerned government officials and observations of some best practices in the sphere of Early Childhood Education (ECE).
SHIKSHA Initiative formally launched SHIKSHA Aarambh, an entire academic year program at 22 AWCs co-located in 11 government schools at Sitapur, Bulandshahr and Gautambuddh Nagar districts in July 2023.
Objectives of the program comprise developing a child-centric learning environment to cater to foundational learning needs, making students ready for the formal schooling system, developing activities, TLM, and curated content for the benefit of educators and students, designing formative, continuous, and age-appropriate assessment for learning – intrinsic of the day-wise teaching plan, developing a flexible easy to customise, and age-inclusive teaching plan, designing intervention towards active parent engagement and building effective capacity building program for community educators and including parents.
In this context, a 3-day orientation workshop was held from 26th to 28th June 2023 at Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence (SNIoE). The session was attended by 39 participants, including Anganwadi workers, helpers, and government teachers. The key objective of the orientation program was to acquaint the AWWs and AWCs with SHIKSHA Initiative and SHIKSHA Aarambh, its vision, mission, and goals.
