Balvatika’ initiative: Two KVs of Prayagraj to offer pre-school teaching

Two Kendriya Vidyalayas of Prayagraj, one at Air Force Station (AFS),Manauri and another at Phulpur, have been selected to offer pre-school teaching, called ‘Balvatika’ (kindergarten).

These two institutions are among 450 additional KVs of the country selected for taking admission for pre-school classes under ‘Balvatika’ initiative that initially was extended to just 50 KVs of the country.

The decision to extend the initiative to additional schools was taken by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), on the directives of the Union Ministry of Education, said KVS officials.

Among the list of 450 KVs across the country where this initiative has been extended, include nine from KVS Varanasi region (that covers Prayagraj), 17 from KVS Lucknow region and 21 from KVS Agra region of the state of Uttar Pradesh, they added.

Apart from two from Prayagraj, other KVs of Varanasi region selected under the exercise include two from Varanasi (KV-BHU and KV-DLW while the other five are KV-Banda, KV-Cheru (Salempur), KV-Balia, KV-Shaktinagar and KV-Kushinagar.

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) had introduced Balvatika (pre-school/kindergarten) classes as a pilot project in 2023-24 session.

The information regarding KV AFS -Manauri being selected for the coveted scheme among 450 KVs of the country was conveyed to the school in a letter dated June 29 sent by joint commissioner (academics) of KVS, NR Murali.

The letter mentions that the decision has been taken to start one section of Balvatika-3 class (for children above five years but who have not attained 6 years as on March 31, 2023) in the identified 450 KVs from the current academic session 2023-24.

Duration of the school timings for these kids would be three hours per day on a five-day week basis and the actual timings would be decided by the respective Vidyalayas. Vacation and breaks shall be as per the existing schedule and no uniform has been prescribed for the ‘Balvatika’ classes. Moreover, the fee structure shall be like existing Class-1 and the classes for Balvatika-3 will start from July 29, 2023.

“The focus of NEP on children’s physical and motor, cognitive, socio-emotional-ethical, cultural/artistic, communication and early language, literacy, and numeracy development skills, is being considered a vital factor in the education policy,” said principal, KV-Manauri, Shalini Dikshit.

She added that it was a great honour for her school and thanked the higher ups who had shown trust in her team.