The Punjab Government has recently announced a set of new guidelines to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of young children between the age group of 3 to 6 years, attending private play ways, schools, and nurseries. These new rules are directed to enhance the pre-primary education across the state, enabling a learning environment for children.

As per the Ministry of Social Security, Women and Child Development (WCD), the rules will be put into effect over the course of the next six months. While announcing the new set of rules, the minister, Baljeet Kaur, highlighted the goal of the move to control and enhance Punjabs early childhood education system.

Minister Baljeet Kaur further also stated that these new guidelines would strongly put emphasis on the hygiene of the schools.

Maintain Hygiene and Kid-friendly Toilets

Schools are required to have hygiene washrooms that are separated by gender, safe drinking water, regular cleaning supplies, and also kid-friendly toilets, she added.

Speaking during the press conference, she also talked about the installation of CCTV cameras for monitoring purposes to ensure childrens safety.

Minister Kaur mentioned to maintain a kid-friendly learning atmosphere for the children. The typical techniques, like carrying books, copies, and pencils, would not be used. Instead, interactive learning from audio-visuals and other learning tools would be used.

No Physical and Mental Harassment

We will take special care that the children will not be allowed to have any kind of physical or mental harassment. Not even a slap, as they cant even blame the teachers. They are expected to foster a nurturing environment that encourages learning through fun and play rather than through strict discipline, she added.

Health and Wellness

The health and wellness would be the topmost priorities under the new guidelines. A regular physical examination would be conducted for all the kids attending playways. The primary focus of this step is to address early childhood health problems.

Nutrition in Diet

Under the new rules, the parents of the wards would be directed to avoid sending junk food to their kids. A Parent Teacher Association would be established to avoid poor eating habits of children in schools. Awareness of nutritious food would be promoted among the young ones.

Financial Policies of the Private Schools

The financial policies of the private schools would also be addressed in the new guidelines. The fee and pricing structure would be transparent, and no additional charges or arbitrary gifts would be charged.

No Parent and Child Interviews

There wont be any more parent or child interviews. However, the admission procedures would be closely monitored to ensure no kid faces mental and physical health issues. Minister Kaur highlighted that these actions are taken in response to the rising childcare services demands.