Vivekananda Child Development Programme VCDP

Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha Parishad is the Rural Development Wing of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur, a branch centre of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, Howrah. Lokasiksha Parishad has been engaged in rural development activities since the last six decades. The objective of the Parishad is development of the poor, deprived and the socially backward people by providing education in consonance with Swami Vivekananda’s ideals about education in all forms such as formal, informal, vocational and technical. Children being the most vulnerable section of society, Parishad decided to intervene in the early childhood of the children in the age group of 2.5 to 6 years, living in inaccessible remote areas of Sundarbans and other backward areas of West Bengal.

Thus Early Childhood Education Programme was launched in the year 1987 with the financial support of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. This programme was started in 402 centres spread over 500 remote villages of 9 districts of West Bengal. The programme mainly focused on development of school going habit, management of malnourished children, hygiene education and simple pre-school education.

With the introduction of Integrated Child Development Scheme in a big way, financial support to such Early Childhood Education Centres (ECE centres) was withdrawn by the Government of India. With the cessation of such financial support, Lokasiksha Parishad decided to run most of such ECE Centers under the Vivekananda Child Development Programme (VCDP) by community participation.

The major objectives are:-

  • To make a solid foundation in pre-school to eradicate dropouts in formal education.
  • To ensure holistic development of child by developing right type of mindset towards learning, character building.
  • To impart child friendly quality pre-school education.
  • Initiate the process of conceptual learning from very beginning of childhood instead of abstract learning.
  • Capacity building of parents to cater the child’s educational, nutritional and health needs.
  • To ensure community participation in all possible ways.

Services offered through the ECE Centers:-

  • Early Childhood Education for one year for children of 2-3 years age group.
  • Graded pre-primary education for children of age group of 3-5 years.
  • Providing toys for learning in play-way method.
  • Preventive health care and maintenance of nutritional status through growth monitoring.
  • Support for books, teaching and learning materials, seating mats etc. are given.
  • Periodical training of ECE organizers/teachers on early childhood education and management.
  • Developing reading materials and guide books.
  • Monthly mothers / parents meeting in each centre giving special emphasis on awareness programmes like child rearing, breast feeding, ORS promotion, sanitation practices, nutrition education, hygiene habits, education etc.

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Highlights:-

  • Status of centers – Presently 133 Early Childhood Education Centres (ECE Centres) are running in 10 districts of West Bengal covering 5036 children. Nearly 90% of the children are mainstreamed in Primary School.
  • Beneficiaries  – The children are mostly from the villages around the centers coming from poor, backward and disadvantaged community. All the ECE Centers are in the remote inaccessible village areas covering nearly 131 villages.
  • Vicinity of centres – The children find such centers next to their doorsteps. Such initiative in the village areas has made more and more children to come to the ECE Centers having found it almost in the vicinity of their houses.
  • Running of centres – The centers are run mainly in the premises of local village based club organizations with the active participation of the club members and community people. The communities take great interest in mobilizing children to get them admitted in the ECE Centres.
  • Participation of Parents  – Guardians have taken great interest in putting their children in the ECE centers from their early childhood and prepare them for the primary education in Government Schools. Parents especially mothers regularly visit our centres and meet the teachers regarding their child’s progress.
  • Sustainability of Programme – After the initiation of Vivekananda Child Development Programme, the yearly enrollment of children in such ECE Centres is 5000 on an average. The continuation of such initiative in the remote villages will prepare more and more children of the disadvantaged poor families from their early childhood for mainstreaming them in the primary schools and motivate them to further their educational status to a higher level. Had there been no such initiative of Lokasiksha Parishad the children would have lesser opportunity to get quality education.