Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Wednesday, said the state government had taken an initiative to link education to society in real terms down to the grassroots level and this was a new beginning to strengthen the foundation of the social system of the country.
Chairing a function at Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur on Wednesday to strengthen 75 Anganwadis and make them well-equipped, the chief minister said the UP government planned to convert Anganwadis into pre-primary schools very soon.
He said it was the Anganwadis which were screening children between 3 and 5 years of age so that they could be saved from the impact of the third wave of COVID-19 and thus they deserved all praise for it.
He said the plan was delayed on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and assured that the whole concept of Anganwadis would be transformed and massive development would be evident in the times to come. He said the concept of adopting Anganwadis would prove to be a milestone for the UP government.
The chief minister said the state government would ensure all-round development of the Anganwadis.
He said the decision to make universities adopt villages for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) patients, both adults and children, would further create a healthy and educated India. He said the government was committed to the treatment of the weaker sections, especially those who were suffering from major diseases.
Praising Anganwadis, Yogi Adityanath said the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was successfully controlled and the credit to this went to Anganwadis and the medical warriors of the state. He said the government had given priority to vaccination of all health workers and this was one of the reasons that the impact of the second wave was controlled
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Anandiben Patel said before the Bharatiya Janata Party government assumed office, the Anganwadis were running only on paper and the initiative for their uplift was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She said the prime minister had asked her to run Anganwadis like that in Gujarat and said they should be run exactly on the pattern in Varanasi.
She said the UP government had prepared a curriculum and the focus would be to ensure women were trained to teach the children.
The Governor said that Anganwadis were meant for the very poor segments and in times to come they would be linked to higher education. She advised NAAC to ensure that it also incorporated social work as well.
She said the decision of the government to ensure that universities adopted five villages and all colleges one village each was likely to work wonders and change the scenario of academic pace in the country. She said if in the next five years it was given a practical shape then education would become at par with the developed countries.
She said it was the government initiative to ensure that Anganwadis and ASHA together took care of the deliveries of the pregnant women. She appealed to the college management to ensure they visited Anganwadis along with their families,
She said if MPs, MLAs and corporators all joined hands they would become the backbone of the progress of Uttar Pradesh. She said the training of the Anganwadis workers would begin from August 15 this year.
Earlier, the Governor first stopped for a short while at HBTU to review a meeting before reaching the CSJM University .The chief minister and the Governor felicitated PSIT, Maharana Pratap, Narain Vidyapeeth, Allen House, Kanpur Institute of Management for adopting villages. Later they distributed toys, educational toys, quizzes, puzzles, blocks, fruits, educational maps, story books, weighing machines, tricycles, furniture, utensils and many more things to the 75 Anganwadis.