From Anganwadi to Balavatika: Inside UP's game-changing early education reform

The Hindu

21-05-2025

Archana, a single mother from a village near Prayagraj, knows education is the key to a better future. But when her son started Grade 1 in a government school, he struggled — his teacher said he should have attended preschool first. Now, Archana worries for her three-year-old daughter at the local Anganwadi. Will it prepare her for school? With no government preschool nearby and private options costing over ₹10,000 a year — far beyond her ₹40,000 income — she faces an impossible choice between securing her child's future and meeting daily needs.
For countless parents like Archana, this is the reality. And for their children, the crucial early years — when 90% of brain development takes place — pass by without structured learning. The fallout is stark.
According to ASER 2019, 86% of four-year-olds couldn't complete a basic listening comprehension task, 77% struggled to count visible objects, and 69% failed to solve a simple four-piece puzzle. These skills are the building blocks of learning. Without them, children enter school unprepared — unable to 'learn to read,' and later, 'read to learn.'
For decades, early childhood education remained informal and under-prioritised. In 1950-51, India had only 303 pre-primary schools with just three lakh students. Literacy among five-year-olds stood at a mere 34.4% by 1971. The launch of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in 1975 expanded Anganwadis — growing from 2.9 lakh in 2001 to over 13.9 lakh in 2021 — offering nutrition, health, and some early learning.
But with workers stretched thin, preschool instruction averaged only 38 minutes a day, far short of the recommended two hours. As a result, enrolment in Anganwadi preschools declined from 3.39 crore in 2008 to just 2 crore in 2021.
The core issue wasn't access, but quality. And quality early education is one of the most powerful equalisers in society. Global research shows that children who attend quality preschools are four times more likely to earn higher incomes and three times more likely to own a home. Yet, in India, pre-primary education — meant to be a universal right — had become a privilege. For millions, the lottery of birth still determined access to this vital foundation.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions learners who are both anchored in Indian values and equipped with the skills to navigate a rapidly evolving, digital world. Central to this transformation is the recognition that a strong foundation must be laid early.
The policy underscores that quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) is not just a preparatory stage — it is the very cornerstone of lifelong learning and development. To ensure that every child enters Grade 1 school-ready, the NEP makes a clarion call for universal access to quality ECCE by 2030. It recommends integrating Anganwadi centres with primary schools and deploying trained early childhood educators — key steps toward creating a seamless continuum of learning from the early years onward.
States like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have begun aligning with this vision, implementing structured early learning programs, training Anganwadi workers, and integrating pre-primary sections in government schools. But Uttar Pradesh has gone a step further — translating intent into action.
A potential game-changer?
Uttar Pradesh has launched two bold reforms. First, it converted all Anganwadis within school campuses into Balavatikas — structured pre-primary sections. Second, it sanctioned the deployment of 10,000 dedicated Early Childhood Education (ECE) educators to these Balavatikas.
These trained professionals will focus exclusively on preparing children aged 5–6 for school, equipped with specialised training and teaching-learning resources. No longer will children stumble into Grade 1 without the foundational skills they need to succeed.
This could be a game-changer. For millions of children, it means not just growth, but genuine learning. At the same time, it eases the burden on the State's two lakh Anganwadi workers — allowing them to focus fully on health, nutrition, and maternal care without being stretched across competing responsibilities.
The ripple effects go beyond classrooms. These 10,000 teaching positions offer meaningful employment — primarily to women — generating both economic opportunity and community leadership. Moreover, by ensuring safe, high-quality early education, it empowers countless mothers to pursue jobs, continue their education, or build livelihoods, secure in the knowledge that their children are in capable hands. When a mother knows her child is learning in a nurturing environment, she doesn't just gain peace of mind — she gains the freedom to shape her own future, uplifting her family and contributing to a more prosperous society.
The opportunity to send their children to free, high-quality early education, lifts a massive financial weight off parents. Nearly half of India's children under five are enrolled in private preschools, costing families an average of ₹12,834 per child annually, which is an average family's two-month worth of earnings — an impossible trade-off between their child's future and their daily survival.
For women like Archana, these changes are more than just policy shifts; they are lifelines. Archana has often felt like she's failing her children. But now, with trained ECE educators in Balavatikas, she finally has an alternative she can trust. Her children, like so many others, will no longer be left behind simply because of where they were born
(Rita Bahuguna Joshi is a former Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh and former Minister of Women Welfare, Family Welfare, Maternity and Child Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh