The Ministry of Education, Government of India, launched the Learning – Teaching Material for Foundational Stage Jaadui Pitara for kids between the age group of 3-8 on February 20, 2023. With this, we can expect enhancement in learning-teaching of the early childhood grade children. The material will make learning more child-centric, lively, and joyful for the deemed ‘Amrit Generation’ of India.
The play-based teaching learning material emphasises the development of children in five domains: physical, socio-emotional and ethical, cognitive, language, and literacy, and lastly aesthetic and cultural developments.
While the learning material is already available in 13 Indian languages, the Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan urged the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to translate the materials in the Jaadui Pitara in all Indian languages. He endeavoured to expand its reach and make it available to all the State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) as the benchmark for transforming early childhood care and education scenario in our country.
What is Jaadui Pitara?
The Jaadui Pitara or Magic Collection is an innovative child-centric play-based teaching and learning material developed under the curricular goals of the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) as recommended by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It is an exemplar of content needed in any school for foundational stage learning. There are expectations for Jaadui Pitara to bring NEP and NCF-FS to practice, in the hands of teachers and students.
What does it Contain?
The Jaadui Pitara contains toys, games, puzzles, puppets, story/poem posters, flashcards, posters, story cards, playbooks, activity books, worksheets for children, and handbooks for teachers and trainers. These materials have been developed across the six developmental domains including the development of positive habits. Furthermore, the box is made up of recycled materials. In an attempt to promote local artistry and culture, most of the toys have been sourced from local artisans.
Innovative Teaching and Learning Materials for the Foundational Stage
Jaadui Pitara is a giant leap towards enriching the learning-teaching environment making it more child-centric and joyful as envisioned in NEP 2020. It contains–
- Toys, Puzzles, and Puppets for children to play
- Stories and Poems for children to listen to and read
- Playbooks and Activity Sheets for children to use and explore
- Handbooks for teachers to do activities in the class
- Guides for teachers to develop and use teaching and learning materials
- Flashcards and sequence cards for teachers to make lessons more interesting and engaging in the classrooms
How to Access Jaadui Pitara?
The resources on Jaadui Pitara will be digitally available on DIKSHA platforms– portal and mobile app. Parents and students can access the content from the DIKSHA platforms anytime and anywhere they want.
Defining Success in Holistic Terms
The environment in which children learn largely determines their learning outcomes. There is nothing as unfortunate and worrisome for a civilised society as a student succumbing to undue pressure.
If a child considers education as a medium of empowerment then all their fears will go away. Any education system anywhere in the world should not burden our learning generations. Hence, it is important to remove that fear from the hearts of the learners with the help of Jaadui Pitara. It will be helpful to a great extent to remove the fear of education among children of 3-8 years as it has the magic of variety, flexibility, and inclusion.
ECCE aims at the holistic development of a child in order to build a solid foundation for lifelong learning. The Jaadui Pitara initiative will add value in it to capitalise sufficient opportunities for children to explore, investigate and experiment for their future learning, health, and life success.
Smile Foundation for Child Education
With Shiksha Na Ruke, Smile Foundation is trying to bring every child back to school and continue their journey of education. The purpose is to promote and make education more accessible among underserved children in rural and urban India. This will be through the inclusion of Jaadui Pitara for aiding effective early childhood education.