Bhubaneswar: In a landmark step to strengthen early childhood education, the Odisha government has announced the introduction of ‘Sishu Vatikas’ across all government primary schools starting from the Academic Year (AY) 2025-26.
The notification was issued by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Government of Odisha, School & Mass Education Department on Monday and will be published in the Odisha Gazette.
As part of this new initiative aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, children aged 5 to 6 years will be enrolled in pre-school education at these specially created centers. The move aims to boost foundational learning and provide quality early education at the grassroots level.
“After careful consideration, in order to provide better support to Primary Grade teachers and in the interest of achieving improved learning outcomes for the pre-school education of young learners, the State Government is pleased to decide as follows,” the notification stated.
To support the program, the government will engage Sishu Sevikas in schools with Sishu Vatikas.
These aides will assist primary grade teachers in delivering effective pre-school education. The monthly honorarium for Sishu Sevikas has been fixed at Rs 3,000, equivalent to the remuneration of Cook-cum-Helpers.
The responsibility of recruiting Sishu Sevikas will rest with the respective School Management Committees (SMCs). Detailed guidelines on the hiring process and the role of Sishu Sevikas will be released soon by the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA).
The initiative’s financial implications have been approved by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, and will be funded through the Samagra Shiksha budget.
