To build up the learning ability of anganwari-going toddlers stuck at home and guiding their parents during these unprecedented times of COVID-19 pandemic, Punjab Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Aruna Chaudhary on Thursday formally launched ‘Digital Parent Margdarshak Program’.

Chaudhary sent the first activity message to the Principal Secretary Raji P Shrivastava, who further forwarded the same to margdarshaks-Anganwadi workers to cover each and all children of the Anganwadi Centres. The Minister said that the State Govt is working tirelessly to impart education through distance learning to the students of all classes during this perilous time.“In order to help tiny-tots of anganwari centres, the mode of distance learning is being implemented in the Social Security, Women and Child Development Dept,” she said, adding that the Department, in collaboration with the Meraki Foundation, has developed the ‘Digital Parent Margdarshak Program’ as the COVID situation has brought about in-person dis-engagement resulting in more reliance on distance learning.

She said that margdarshaks and functionaries of this specialized program, which will be implemented in two phases and each phase will cover 11 districts, have been given fortnight training to make this initiate a huge success.

Chaudhary added that customized messages in Punjabi coupled with attractive animated videos are being sent to Anganwari workers, who forwarded these activity messages to the parents of the Anganwari-going children using various social media platforms to provide fascinating knowledgeable content to anganwari children in an amusing way.