Parliament Question: Early Childhood Care and Education

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3031 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION 3031. SHRI G.C. CHANDRASHEKHAR: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) progress made in Karnataka in implementing Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) reforms under NEP 2020 from 2021-22 to 2024-25; (b) Anganwadi Workers trained in ECCE Modules; and (c) challenges identified in integration with school education? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (c): Government of Karnataka has informed that they have introduced Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for children of 4 to 6 years of age. It includes LKG (Lower Kindergarten) from 4 to 5 and UKG (Upper Kindergarten) from 5 to 6 years. The aim of strengthening ECCE is to increase admission in Grade 1 of all Government primary Schools and to make children school ready by the age of 6. Since 2021-22, Government of Karnataka has opened 7013 ECCE centers across the State with infrastructure and facilities like outdoor play materials for children, child friendly furniture and BaLA (Building as Learning Aid) features. Each LKG and UKG Section has been provided with one teacher for providing quality education and one Aaya to maintain the cleanliness in schools. ECCE is one of the six services provided under Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 scheme of the Government of India. ECCE sessions at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) are implemented through a play-based, activity-based ECCE curriculum, named ‘Aadharshila’ designed to promote the holistic development of children aged 3–6 years. The curriculum focuses on six key developmental domains including Physical, Socio-Emotional and Ethical, Cognitive, Language and Literacy, Aesthetic and Cultural and Positive Learning Habits, which collectively contribute to school readiness. An annual allocation of ₹3,000 per AWC is provided for Pre-School Education (PSE) Kits comprising culturally relevant, low / no-cost toys. State government ofKarnataka runs 74,045 AWCs across the State catering to 13,57,588 children of 3 to 6 years of age. To create safe, stimulating, and enabling environment for early learning, 17,732 AWCs in the State of Karnataka have been upgraded as Saksham Anganwadi Centres, including provision of LED screens and other audio-visual aids, Wi-Fi/Internet connectivity (wherever feasible), safe drinking water facilities such as water filters/RO systems, BaLA (Building as Learning Aid) paintings, age-appropriate Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) learning materials, Poshan Vatikas (kitchen gardens), etc. 18,316 Anganwadi Workers have been imparted training in ‘Aadharshila’ ECCE curriculum as on 16th March 2026 in Karnataka. In a whole-of Government approach, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is working in convergence with the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education (MoE) to deliver quality ECCE across the country. In this connection, guidelines for co-location of AWCs with Government primary schools were jointly issued on 3rd September 2025 by the MWCD and DoSEL. Government of Karnataka has informed that around 15,000 AWCs have been co-located with the primary schools in the State. *****