Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh, March 7 –
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, marked a historic milestone today for early childhood care and education in Haryana with the inauguration of 59 Model Playschools under the 'Playway Schools' initiative.
Manohar Lal inaugurated these Model Playschools at a programme organized at Indradhanush Auditorium, Sector-5 Panchkula today. In all, the Chief Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth Rs 4223 crore in all districts of the State through video conferencing.
The unveiling of the 59 schools today marks not only a joyous celebration of the novel ‘Playway Schools’ initiative, but also embodies the government’s promise to create a transformative education ecosystem that empowers every child to reach their full potential.
The Playway Schools initiative, established by Chief Minister’s announcement, was executed by upgrading 4,000 Anganwadi Centres into ‘Playway Schools’ by equipping them with enhanced learning material, pre-school education kits, and training Anganwadi Workers to perform pedagogical functions. 59 such Playschools have been further upgraded and renovated into Model Playschools with state-of-the-art facilities such as a BaLA (Building as Learning Aids) features equipped classroom, a modular kitchen, and child friendly toilets. Functional metered electricity and clean drinking water supply are provided as well. The project saw an overall expenditure of Rs 1.58 Crores and was executed through the support of Sarpanches at the village level and CSR. This visionary program, developed under the auspices of the State Government, is poised to revolutionize the landscape of early childhood education, setting new standards and benchmarks for quality learning experiences for the state’s youngest citizens.
At the heart of 'Playway Schools' is a transformative approach that recognizes the critical importance of early childhood development in shaping the future of our society. With a firm commitment to nurturing the innate curiosity, creativity, and potential of every child, this initiative introduces a dynamic blend of play-based learning methodologies and modern pedagogical practices.
Designed for children aged 3 to 5 years of age as per the vision set by the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework - Foundational Stage 2022, the 'Playway Schools' initiative represents a holistic approach to early childhood care and education, encompassing diverse aspects such as cognitive development, social-emotional learning, physical well-being, and creative expression. Through a carefully conducted analysis of gaps at existing Playway schools, the initiative was designed to upgrade the schools by identifying and incorporating the six parameters of room, kitchen, child friendly toilet and water purifier availability, alongside the addition of art-based learning - BaLa (Building as a Learning Aid) paintings to provide a facelift to the existing Playway Schools and revamp them into model institutions of childhood care and learning.