JAMMU, March 19: A capacity-building workshop on Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) Leadership for the Cluster Heads/HOIs of the Government Schools of Jammu and Samba was held here today at the Tawi Conference Hall, Udheywala, Jammu. The workshop was organized by the National Development Foundation Jammu in collaboration with the Directorate of Samagra Shiksha J&K, Directorate of School Education Jammu and in partnership with UNICEF India. Around 60 Educational Administrators participated in the workshop. Prof. Dr. Sindhu Kapoor, Joint Director SCERT Divisional Office Jammu, inaugurated the workshop in the presence of Mr. Rajiv Khajuria, President National Development Foundation (NDF) and Mrs. Arti Sharma, CEO NDF. While the afternoon session was presided over by Sh. Jagdeep Padha, Chief Education Officer Jammu. Ms. Jaswinder Kour, Coordinator Pre-Primary, Dr. Sarita Sharma, Assistant Coordinator Pre-Primary, and Mr. Sunny Kumar, Programme Manager NDF, were Resource Persons, while the stage was conducted by Ms. Nisha Pandita from NDF.

Mr. Ajeet Sharma, Coordinator Quality Samagra Shiksha J&K, was the key Resource Person and highlighted the government's achievements with regard to ECCE. He sensitized the HOIs to their role and responsibilities in delivering the ECCE component effectively in J&K.

Mr. Rajiv Kumar Khajuria, President NDF, in his address, said that the Cluster Heads/HOIs are the Education Leaders, and their understanding and leadership will determine the quality of ECCE component delivered through the Pre-Primary classes of the kindergartens established in the government schools after coming up of National Education Policy 2020.

Sh. Jagdeep Padha, Chief Education Officer Jammu, in his address, said that the National Education Policy 2020 has laid importance on the universalization of Early Childhood Care & Education by the year 2030 target to ensure that all students entering Grade 1 are school-ready. He complimented the National Development Foundation for providing handholding support to the schools with regard to ECCE and FLN delivery in the Jammu district.

Prof. Sindhu Kapoor, Joint Director SCERT, in her address, called upon the Educational Leaders to work on the domains of holistic development of children and work towards developing social behaviour, good habits and basic life skills among children. She emphasized that early years of education are crucial and lays the foundation for lifelong learning in children. She complimented the role of the National Development Foundation for collaborating with the School Education Department for the effective delivery of ECCE and FLN.