In a first in the country, rural children in UP will start getting the benefit of pre-primary schooling in government schools from September.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is set to introduce pre-primary classes for children in the age group of four to five, as part of its school readiness programme, to be introduced on pilot basis in 200 primary schools in each of the 72 districts in the state.

At present, pre-primary classes are held in government schools in Delhi, but only in the urban areas. Nowhere in the country are these classes held in rural areas, according to Ashok Ganguly, Additional State Project Director of the SSA.

Costing around Rs 10 crore, the project is being funded by both the Centre and the state government. While 60 per cent of the cost will be funded by the central government, the state government will bear 40 per cent.

“The programme will help in creating a favourable environment for students which will increase their learning level and help them to adapt to school. While the concept is already prevalent in private schools, we will now introduce it for the first time in government schools,” said Veena, State Project Director, SSA.

“We wanted to make such facilities available for children in rural areas as they are unable to afford the high fees of the pre-primary classes in private schools. A proposal in this regard was submitted to the Centre which has cleared it,” added Veena.

She said admission will be open to all students in the target age group. Around 29,000 children will be admitted in the pilot project. The curriculum for the pre-primary classes is being specially designed by the SSA.

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