Uttarakhand Environmental Education Centre (UEEC)

Home
Up
About Us
Our Area
Mode of Working
Approach
Publications
Partners

 

Pre-schools (Balwadis)

Two Balwadi children The UEEC supports, as of the year 2006-07, twenty NGOs in running 200 balwadis in villages all over Uttarakhand. This support takes the form of on-the-spot guidance and evaluation, teacher training, supply of teaching materials, and payment of honoraria for teachers. There are about 4000 children, the majority girls, enrolled in these balwadis. Over the years, more than 1500 balwadi teachers have been trained.

The special features of the balwadis are:

  • The village community manages the centre and provides a room and land for it.

  • Free mid-day meals are not provided in the balwadis. Instead, parents are requested to send tiffin (lunch) with their children which is then shared at mealtime. This is in keeping with our policy of minimum money inputs and supports the concept of self sufficiency in the village. Communities are motivated to grow cereals, vegetables and fruits locally and a support system is provided to this happen in the village. Also, the sharing of food amongst the children helps break down caste barriers.

  • The teacher, usually a girl or young woman of the village or of a nearby village, is appointed by the village community.

  • Environmental education activities are given a prominent place in the balwadi programme with the aim of helping the child relate to his/her immediate environment.

  • The annual calendar and the daily timings of the balwadis are decided by the community in accordance with the seasonal workload and convenience of the residents.

  • The balwadi teachers are mostly young and not highly educated. Often they come out of their villages for the first time to attend a teacher-training course. by participating in the balwadi programme, they gain confidence and develop into environmentally-aware and knowledgeable adults. They are motivated to do socially-useful work and in many villages they are instrumental in the formation of women's groups.

In general, the balwadi is a means of bringing about positive changes in outlook and behaviour of all village residents.