Punjab started nursery and kindergarten classes in all government primary schools for children in the age group of three to six years.
The duration of the classes would be three hours and everything would be free of cost, state education minister Aruna Chaudhary said while formally launching the initiative at a government elementary school in Mohali. “This would help in strengthening physical, intellectual as well as creative faculties in children and would be well conversant with the school environment,” she said.
The children have been divided into three groups — nursery (3 to 4 years), lower kindergarten (4 to 5 years) and upper kindergarten (5 to 6 years). Around 1,50,000 students have taken admission and the process will go on till the end of this month.
While assuring the anganwadi workers that their jobs would be secure and their services would be utilised to the maximum extent to keep the project going, the minister added that deliberations are going on to form a separate cadre for the border areas in order to fulfill shortfall of teachers in those regions.