Vadodara: City balwadis to get facelift

Five balwadis were taken up for the pilot project in 2016. (Express photo by Bhupendra Rana)

Colourful classrooms and e-learning are part of the Nagar Prathmik Sikshan Samiti (NPSS) plan to give balwadis across the city a new look by the end of this year. Under the project, every balwadi will get LED TV, computers with balwadi course software, educational kits, apart from renovated classrooms. Teachers too are trained in a two-day workshop conducted by the balwadi teachers who were a part of the pilot project.

Of the 75 balwadis in the city, five were taken up for a pilot project in 2016 under grants allotted by Vadodara Municipal Corporation. Following this, another five balwadis were face-lifted through a CSR project for the current academic year. By the end of 2018, remaining 65 balwadis will be revamped, making Vadodara a city of smart schools. A fund of Rs 75 lakh has been granted for the project by Ranjan Bhatt from her MP fund.

NPSS chairperson Meenama Parmar said, “We want to work towards 0% dropout ratio and we want to start infusing interest in students towards education from their pre-primary days. With smart schools, we have seen the number of admissions double in areas like Danteshwar and Chhani and we are aiming at a holistic learning approach that is at par with private schools yet free of cost.”

A total of 3800 students are enrolled across the 75 schools. “The smart balwadi was constructed within 15 days during the vacations. We have already started the academic year, but almost every day we have a new inquiry and a new admission. At present we have 207 students enrolled in the program and we are expecting more admissions till August,” said Chamanlal Nai, Principal of Pandit Deen Dayal Prathmik shala.