Tirunelveli's First Female Collector Sets Example, Enrols Daughter In Anganwadi Centre

Every young parent is worried about their children’s education especially initial years when their brain takes shape. Parents want their kids to have the best education, and for that, they try to get them admitted to the most expensive private schools. It has almost become a trend in the upper-class and upper-middle-class society, to enrol their children in fancy schools, as it is assumed that only the most expensive private schools can provide holistic growth to a child. However, now many parents are breaking convention, by not sending their ward to private schools and choosing government schools for their child’s education. One such example is Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district’s first woman collector, Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, who has chosen a government-run Anganwadi for her daughter.

Anganwadis are also good for children

According to The Indian Express, the 2009 batch IAS officer, Shilpa happily claims that she has made the right decision of getting her daughter enrolled in an Anganwadi. The collector who took the post last year has proudly enrolled her daughter to Anganwadi, saying that the Anganwadis are “integrated child development areas” that keep track of the children’s health.

Almost a month back, Shilpa realised that there is nobody to interact with her daughter at her office camp and also that her daughter is very young to get admitted in the school, as the schools in the area only admitted children above the age of three. This made the mother’s decision firm, who chose a nearby Anganwadi for her daughter.

While speaking to the media, the district collector and the mother of a daughter said, “We (the government officials) are the ones who promote Anganwadis no.”

Anganwadi have adequate facilities for children’s growth

Claiming that the government-run Anganwadis are good for children she said, “Our Anganwadis have all the facilities. This (centre) is located right next to my house and she(her daughter) meets people and plays around.”

She added that in her Tirunelveli district, there are a few thousand Anganwadis and each of these Anganwadis are well equipped to take care of children. It has good teachers and good infrastructure and play material for the children, said the collector.

She further informed that the Anganwadi teachers in the district have been provided with smartphones, that has an app which would be used to record the height and weight of the children. This would help the teachers to keep a check on the kids’ health. Further, the health details would also be handed over to schools where the children would go to study. The collector said that this effort was part of the National Nutrition Mission.

Encourage more to send their wards to government-run schools

While talking about her daughter’s experience in her Anganwadi playschool, the collector said that her daughter is very happy in her new school.

“She loves the place and enjoys meeting other children. She has picked up Tamil as well. She is able to understand and talk a little,” she says.

While encouraging others parents also to send their kids to Aganwadis, she said that all parents, irrespective of class, should consider sending their kids to Anganwadis.

According to The News Minute, in Tirunelveli alone, over 50,000 children currently attend Anganwadis, with a majority of rural centres has attendance to at least 25 wards a day.

While talking about bettering the government-run schools in the district she said that the government has taken up a personal project in the district to improve the knowledge of English among government school children.

MLAs who did the same

Last year, two Communist Party Marxist (CPM) MLA TV Rajesh and CPM MP MB Rajesh admitted their children in government schools. The trend seems to have transcended party lines as well, since, Congress MLA TV Balaram too has enrolled his son in the government school close to his house in the national capital.

MLA Amanatullah, on July 26, last year enrolled his son and daughter into a government school in Delhi. Not only his children but his nephews and children of some of his friends too have gotten admission into these government schools. These kids were said to be earlier studying in convent schools.

The Logical Indian Take

This is an incredibly refreshing trend. People have always associated government schools with poor infrastructure and limited quality of education. The efforts being made to improve the situation with even political leaders setting precedent is truly heartening to see.

Also Read: Meet The MP And MLAs From Kerala, Delhi Who Send Their Children To Govt Schools