Delhi: Contrary To Kejriwal Government's Claims Of Success, Data Reveals Decline In Anganwadi Enrollment

While the Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had previously underscored its substantial enhancements to Anganwadi centres, recent data reveals a decline in child enrollment, posing challenges.

In April, the AAP government unveiled plans to equip all Anganwadi centres with a 35-item learning kit designed to make children's education engaging and interactive.

Additionally, they introduced 'ECCE Day', a monthly event for parents to participate in group activities with their children.

These measures were part of the Delhi government's plans to improve the quality of Anganwadi services. However, recent data indicates a drop in child enrollment, despite these efforts.

The Woman and Child Development (WCD) Department has acknowledged this enrollment challenge and is now taking a different approach to understand the underlying reasons for the decline.

According to the Outcome Budget for 2022-23, Delhi houses 10,897 Anganwadi centres.

The data suggests a significant reduction in the number of enrolled children across different age groups, raising questions about the effectiveness of the recent upgrades.

In 2021, 77,019 children aged 0-6 months were registered as Integrated Child Development Services beneficiaries. This fell to 57,399 the following year, as reported by Indian Express.

In 2022-23, the count of children aged six months to three years stood at 34,3785, a decrease from the previous year's figure of 42,6452.

Similarly, the number of children aged three-six registered at Anganwadi centres dropped to 14,1058, compared to 28,1215 in 2021-22.

To address these concerns, the WCD Department has initiated a digital survey to gain insights into the factors affecting child enrollment.

Supervisors have been entrusted with conducting this survey within one month, with regular follow-up from child development project officers to ensure its timely completion.