Odisha Cabinet sets graduation as minimum qualification for Anganwadi workers

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet on Wednesday approved a graduation degree as the minimum educational qualification for the selection of Anganwadi workers, under the Odisha Children’s and Women’s Welfare Service (Amendment) Rules, 2025.

Chaired by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the Cabinet approved the amendment stipulating that candidates applying for the junior grade of service as Anganwadi workers must possess a graduate degree or an equivalent qualification from a recognised university.

However, the amendment will not apply to existing Anganwadi workers, who will continue to be governed by the qualifications set under the previous rules, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja clarified. “This initiative will strengthen the service delivery mechanism, quality management in implementation of the schemes meant for well-being of women and children being administered by the State,” he said.

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Under Odisha’s Integrated Child Development Services programme, Anganwadi workers are entrusted with delivering essential health, nutrition, and education services to children under six, pregnant and lactating mothers, and adolescent girls.

Anganwadi workers provide non-formal pre-school education to children aged three to six years, teaching basic literacy, numeracy, and social skills through play-based activities and action songs. They ensure supplementary nutrition, such as hot-cooked meals or take-home rations, monitor growth by weighing children monthly, and counsel mothers on balanced diets and breastfeeding.

They also facilitate immunisations, health check-ups, and distribute basic medicines like oral rehydration salts.

Also Read: Anganwadi workers: Key to strengthening nutrition in India

Apart from conducting house-to-house surveys to identify eligible beneficiaries, raise awareness about hygiene, and encourage community participation, Anganwadi workers hold monthly parents’ meetings to discuss child development, record births, and refer cases of malnutrition to health facilities.

With the help of the Poshan Tracker app to collage real-time data on childcare and growth, Anganwadi workers have maintained detailed registers on attendance, nutrition distribution, and health metrics since 2021.