District Magistrate of Chamoli, Uttarakhand, Swati S. Bhadoria admitted her two-year-old son in an Anganwadi instead of a costly day-care/ cretch. By doing so, she has set an excellent example for not just politicians and bureaucrats, but also ordinary men and women who queue up send their wards to costly schools, even if it means stretching their budget a bit.

Uttarakhand: Chamoli’s DM Swati Bhadauriya enrols her son to Anganwadi Center in Gopeshwar village. DM says,“It’s for his social,mental&physical growth. All children are well-fed&provided with toys&basic amenities,including medical care.Children can have holistic growth here.” pic.twitter.com/3naLHgeuiV

— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2018

As per NDTV, she said that she did so because she wanted her son to grow up in an environment which promotes sharing. She also noted that Anganwadi centres have all the necessary facilities and a holistic environment suitable for the growth of a child.

She added, “Education, fun and food go hand in hand at these centres. My son is feeling very good there along with other children.”

Her decision has special significance because most of the officers, politicians and people with financial means send their children to expensive private day-care centres instead of state-funded schools. This is believed to be one of the many reasons why the quality of state-run facilities keeps on deteriorating, and overall reputation is very low. The Chamoli District Magistrate said that she wants the general attitude towards Anganwadi centres to change and it was one of the reasons behind her decision.

Manju Bhatt, a volunteer at the Gopeshwar village Anganwadi centre, said, “Tuesday was Abhyuday’s first day here, and he had khichdi with the rest of the children”.

Her husband, Nitin Bhadoria is also an IAS officer and is currently the District Magistrate of Almora, Uttarakhand.

In the past few years, a positive wave of change has swept the country. Even though the number of politicians/bureaucrats taken such step is minuscule, it surely has set a significant precedent. In 2017, Chattisgarh IAS officer Avnish Kumar Sharan also set an example by sending his daughter to a local government school. Inspired by his decision, legislator and parliamentary secretary Shivshankar Paikra also enrolled his 5-year old son in a local government school in Pathalgaon block in the same state.

Also Read: District Magistrate Encourages Wife to Take Charge Of A Govt School In Shortage of Teachers