Lok Sabha Question No. 68 (STARRED), answered on 2024-11-29
Subject: Role of AWWs and AWHs
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Sribharat Mathukumilli

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *68

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2024

## ROLE OF AWWS AND AWHS

- *68. SHRI SRIBHARAT MATHUKUMILLI:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD be pleased to state: (a)  the  average  number  of  Anganwadi  Workers  (AWWs)  and  Anganwadi  Helpers (AWHs) for each Anganwadi Centre, State-wise; (b) the works undertaken by a typical AWW in the Centre; (c) whether the multi-tasked Anganwadi Workers teach children of different ages at once; and (d) if so, the challenges and impacts of this arrangement on the quality of children's early education?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## Statement referred to in reply to Part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 68 to be answered on 29.11.2024 regarding 'Role of AWWs and AWHs'

(a) to (d) As per the mandate of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, each Anganwadi Centre consists of one Anganwadi Worker (AWW) and one Anganwadi Helper (AWH) in  the Main Anganwadi centre (AWC) and one Anganwadi Worker in the Mini AWC. The roles and responsibilities of Anganwadi Worker under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 are placed at Annexure .

Poshan  Bhi  Padhai  Bhi  initiative  of  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  was launched on 10 th  May 2023 to bring focus of the Anganwadi system on early childhood care  and  education  and  transform  the  Anganwadi  Centre  into  a  Learning  Centre having  high  quality  infrastructure,  play  equipment,  and  well-trained  Anganwadi Workers  to  stimulate  the  creative,  social,  emotional  and  cognitive  development  of children under 6 years of age including divyang children.

A Two Tier Implementation Model, i.e. training cascade, is being followed throughout the  Country  for  Training  functionaries  under  the  scheme  i.e  State  Level  Master Trainers  and  Anganwadi  Workers.    Poshan  Bhi  Padhai  Bhi  Training  covers  all Anganwadi functionaries once in Year 1 and Year 2 as a basic ECCE and Nutrition training, i.e. Round 1, and then once again in Year 3 for deeper detailed training, i.e. Round 2.

To  empower  the  Anganwadi  workers  and  ensure  optimal  learning  for  all  children including Divyang children, this Ministry has developed two curriculum frameworks 'Navchetana- National Framework for Early Childhood Stimulation for Children from Birth to Three Years, 2024' and 'Aadharshila- National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education for Children from Three to Six Years 2024' under Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi programme.

For children from birth to three years, 'Navchetna' is used for holistic early stimulation, through  responsive  caregiving  and  opportunities  for  early  learning  and  for  optimal physical  &  cerebral  development  of  children.  Monthly  age  based  activities  for  36 months are provided that can be conducted both within the household as well as at the Anganwadi Centre, through all the contact points including home visits, monthly meetings, community-based events etc. Screening, inclusion and referrals for divyang children are also provided special focus.

Generally children enrolled from age three to six years visit the Anganwadi Centres where  'Adharshila'  is  used  for  all  domains  of  development/teaching  as  per  the National  Curriculum  Framework  for  Foundational  Stage  2022  (NCF-FS),  including physical/motor, cognitive, language and literacy, socioemotional, cultural/aesthetic as well as positive habits. It provides a weekly calendar comprising 36 weeks of active learning, 8 weeks of reinforcement and 4 weeks of initiation, together with 5+1 days of play-based learning in one week, and three blocks of activities in one day. It provides for a combination of activities, including in-centre and at-home, indoor and outdoor, child-led  and  educator-led  etc.  Special  focus  has  been  given  for  the  screening, inclusion and referrals of divyang children in every activity.

As part of the important component of Early Childhood Care and Education, MWCD has placed great deal of importance on development and use of indigenous toys for learning at  AWCs. All 36 States/ UT's have been paired to facilitate exchange of indigenous toys/folklores as part of the vision for Ek Bharat Sreshth Bharat.  Detailed guidelines have been shared with all States on creation of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) toy kits as part of Teaching Learning Material creation workshops.

The Ministry has issued guidelines for organization of fixed monthly ECCE days and provision of PSE kit at Anganwadi Centres outlining different types of events that can be conducted by the Anganwadi Worker with the parents and community, aligned with the academic calendar, to help children with school readiness and life skills.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0, Anganwadi workers (AWWs) have been technologically empowered with  the  provision  of  smartphones  for  efficient  monitoring  and  service delivery. The mobile application Poshan Tracker digitizes physical registers used by Anganwadi  workers.  This  improves  the  quality  of  their  work  while  simultaneously facilitating real-time monitoring of all activities going on simultaneously. Further, ECCE modules have also been incorporated in Poshan Tracker.

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## Statement referred to in reply to Part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 68 to be answered on 29.11.2024 regarding 'Role of AWWs and AWHs' -

## Roles and responsibilities of Anganwadi Worker (AWW) is as under:

- (i) To  feed  relevant  beneficiary  data  in  Poshan  Tracker  app  on  regular  basis  as instructed from time to time and generate/submit reports/ returns as specified.
- (ii) To weigh each child every month, record the weight graphically on the growth card, use referral card for referring cases of mothers/children to the sub- centres/PHC etc., and maintain child cards for children below 6 years and produce these cards before visiting medical and para-medical personnel.
- (iii)  To carry out a quick survey of all the families, especially mothers and children in those families at least once in a year and to provide health and nutrition education and counselling on breastfeeding and infant & young child feeding practices to mothers.
- (iv)  To organize non-formal pre-school activities in the Anganwadi for children in the age  group  3-6  years  and  to  help  in  designing  and  making  of  toys  and  play equipment of indigenous origin for use in the Anganwadi Centre.
- (v)  To help pregnant and lactating mothers visiting the Anganwadi centre to get the birth  of  their  child  registered  and  share  the  information  with  the  village  level functionary who notifies the Registrar of Births.
- (vi)  To  assist  the  PHC  staff  in  the  implementation  of  the  health  component  of  the programme,  viz.  immunization  and  health  check-up,  ante-natal  and  post-natal check etc., to assist ANM in the administration of IFA and Vitamin A and to identify the  children  with  special  needs  during  her  home  visits  and  refer  the  case immediately to the nearest PHC or District Disability Rehabilitation Centre.
- (vii) To assist in implementation of Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) in Aspirational districts of all States and all States of North Eastern India and motivate adolescent girls and their parents and community in general by organizing social awareness programmes/campaigns etc.

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