Page 51 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2022-23

48 Education
Securing
children’s care
and wellbeing
Strengthening Early
Childhood Care and
Education (ECCE)
in India
In 2022, Reliance Foundation took its first steps
towards establishing a new programme on Early
Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
Through multiple discussions with experts and
stakeholders, Reliance Foundation developed a
long-term strategy for its ECCE programme.
The vision is to establish a model for transforming the
ECCE landscape in India to ensure that all three to
six-year-old children achieve age appropriate child
development outcomes, enabling them to achieve their
full potential, taking advantage of education and other
opportunities in the future.
In Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, 25 Anganwadi
centres were developed as model spaces, to serve 750
children. The centres incorporate local culture in their
design, with walls painted beautifully in the ‘Sanjhi’ art
form. All centres have high quality and child-friendly
furniture, play equipment, learning materials (books,
toys, art and craft materials etc.), smart TV, and a
Reliance Nutrition Garden. Emphasising the need to
have a clean and safe environment, several features
have been installed. Some of these include
child-friendly restrooms, RO water filters for clean
drinking water, renovated kitchens with exhaust fans,
large windows for improved light and ventilation, and
ramps with railings to make centres accessible.
The first centre constructed at Gopalpur Karauta
was handed over to the community and children on
the 15 August 2022, to coincide with Azaadi ka
th
Amrit Mahotsav.
In Hazira, Reliance Foundation has initiated the
project of converting Anganwadis to digitally ‘Smart’
Anganwadis. Under this project, Reliance Foundation
has supported 22 Anganwadis from seven adjoining
villages with smart TVs, pen drives, and digital
material to help support learning of 650 children while
2,333 ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers have
been recognised for their contribution towards child
care and early childhood education.
Reliance Foundation | Annual Report 2022-23 49
Bridging the learning gap year one, and grants to further scale up this work
through Foundational Literacy and will be available in year two, aiming to reach up to
Numeracy (FLN) 2.5 million children by 2025.
The ‘EdTech Accelerator’ was launched as a The Accelerator forms an integral part of
multi-partner initiative that aims to strengthen ‘Back-to-School Outcomes Fund’, which is a
Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills first-of-its-kind collaborative initiative alongside
of children at-home, aiming to bridge the learning the Government of India’s NIPUN Bharat Mission to
gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. achieve FLN goals for all children in India.
Reliance Foundation was a founding partner of
The EdTech Accelerator which was developed by a
consortium of leading non-profit and philanthropic
organisations, including the British Asian Trust as fund
manager, Central Square Foundation as design and
implementation partner, UBS Optimus Foundation as
founding partner, and the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) providing technical assistance
to support the fund design and management.
The EdTech Accelerator will fund eight high-quality
EdTech solutions that aim to build, pilot, measure, and
test innovative ideas that seek to provide access to
affordable and quality learning solutions for
low-income populations. Impact-focused grant funding
and dedicated mentoring support will be available in