NEP can ruin us: 1L anganwadi teachers may lose their jobs

Y. Maheswara Reddy | NT Bengaluru, Nov. 3

The implementation of the National Education Policy in Karnataka could mean catastrophic consequences for around 1.3 lakh teachers and assistants working at a n g a n w a d i centres, all of wh o m n ow stand to lose their jobs. The NEP allows children to be- gin formal ed- ucation at the age of three, effectively ren- dering angan- wadis, which are categorised as non-for- mal education centres, irrel- evant. In a move to pre-empt any move to deprive them of their livelihoods, anganwadi teachers and assistants say they should be allowed to teach lower kindergarten and upper kindergarten stu- dents at the centres. Karnataka is home to some 65,000 anganwadi centres, with as many teachers and assistants managing them. Around 3000 of these are in Bengaluru.

The children (those between the ages of three and six are eligible) who go there belong to mi- grant workers’ families. Nu- tritious food and primary healthcare facili- ties are the main draws. According to Girijamma, an an- ganwadi teacher in Kengeri Satel- lite Town, angan- wadi teachers are capable of con- ducting classes for kindergarten stu- dents. “They have all passed SSLC,” she says. “The government can provide uniforms and study material. Two im- portant goals will be met – anganwadi workers can keep their jobs and children will continue getting nutritious food to eat.” N. Shivanna, President of the Karnataka State Anganwadi Teachers and Assistants’ Federation says they aren’t against the National Education Policy but fear it will cost them their livelihoods.