Uttar Pradesh has a total of 1.89 anganwadi centres, of which 95,000, designated as ‘balvatikas’ or playschools.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to outsource over 10,000 teaching jobs across 75 districts in the State in order to ease the burden on anganwadi workers, who double as playschool teachers for children aged three to six, read an official communication.
A model bid will be prepared to onboard an external recruiting agency, which in turn will onboard 10,684 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teachers on an annual 11-month contract, read the letter dated August 24, which was addressed by Kanchan Verma, Director General of the Department of Basic Education in the State to all district Basic Education Officers.
The decision to outsource the hiring of the teachers has been taken after the Union Ministry of Education approved funds worth ₹142.75 crore for the same in the current financial year, the letter stated.
The State government’s decision is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which recommends providing quality early childhood care and education under the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) programme.
According to the NEP, access to learning in a play-way based method before students enter Class 1 strengthens foundational literacy skills and helps ease their way into school.
Mandate for teachers
The letter stated that the ECCE teachers are expected to be qualified in pre-primary education or Home Science, and should not be over the age of 40 at the time of hiring.
They are mandated to prepare children aged three to six for formal education, the letter said. Special attention is to be given to children aged five to six to prepare them for Class 1, including ensuring that they are equipped with basic foundational knowledge like counting and the alphabet.
The teachers are also expected to bring the children up to date with concepts like games, drama, field trips, music, art and craft. They are expected to have frequent interactions with parents to apprise them of their child’s performance.
According to the letter, the educators will be paid a monthly salary of ₹10,313, which includes contributions to the Provident Fund and Employees State Insurance.
ECCE educators hired through an external recruitment agency will be onboarded on contract. This is different from direct departmental hiring, which makes teachers a part of the permanent cadre, which requires State Cabinet approval.
The newly-hired ECCE educators will be expected to ease the load of the anganwadi workers. Currently, Uttar Pradesh has a total of 1.89 anganwadi centres, of which 95,000, designated as ‘balvatikas’ or playschools, are located within 67,000 schools. Some schools have more than one anganwadi centre.
