Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Punjab Mrs. Aruna Chaudhary directed the Department of Social Security, Women and Child Development to form a sub-committee to formulate a comprehensive and effective policy to improve the health care and education of children aged 0-6 years.Presiding over a meeting of the State Early Childhood Care and Education Council at Punjab Bhawan here today, Ms. Chaudhary directed the department to ensure that the proposals and suggestions of all parties are received before preparing and implementing the policy. She said that all rounder development of children is very important for the country and society. Therefore, the ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) policy must be effective.The Minister said that ECCE encompasses the inseparable elements of care, health, nutrition, play and early learning within a protective and enabling environment. It is an indispensable foundation for lifelong development and learning, and has lasting impact on early childhood development. It is imperative to accord priority attention to ECCE and invest in it since it is the most cost effective way to break the intergenerational cycle of multiple disadvantages and to remove inequity, leading to long term social and economic benefits.She said that the state ECCE Policy reaffirms the commitment of the Government to provide integrated services for the holistic development of all children, along the continuum, from the prenatal period to six years of age.
The Policy lays down the way forward for a comprehensive approach towards ensuring sound foundation for survival, growth and development of every child with focus on care and early learning. It recognizes the synergistic and interdependent relationships between the health, nutrition psycho-social and emotional needs of the child.Mrs Chaudhary said that government shall promote to develop appropriate practices of ECCE through a multi pronged approach of laying down norms and quality standards ; developing framework; provision of appropriate and adequate play material, conducting programme assessment and child assessment. She said that the main object of the policy is to achieve holistic development and active learning capacity of all the children below 6 years of age by promoting free, universal, inclusive, equitable, joyful and contextualized opportunities for laying foundation and attaining full potential. She said that the main purpose of this is to facilitate comprehensive childcare supports, infrastructure and service aimed at holistic well being of children and responsive to their developmental need along the continuum of care from conception to age of six. She said that capable human resources will be engaged to enhance and develop the quality service for the children and their families . Mr. Rajinder Singh, Chairman, Punjab State Child Protection Commission; Mrs. Raji P. Shrivastava, Principal Secretary, Department of Social Security, Women and Child Development; Mr. Krishan Kumar, Secretary School Education; Diprawa Lakra, Director, Social Security Women and Child Development and senior officials from Education, Health, Planning, Finance, Rural Development and Panchayat departments were also present on the occasion.