MANGALURU:
Department of women and child welfare is all set to introduce
bio-metric attendance system at
anganwadis under its control. This measure, minister for women and child welfare
Jayamala Ramachandra said has been mooted to ensure that the anganwadi teachers are present at the respective anganwadis during their slated duty hours and pay full attention to the needs of children and not indulge in any other
non-department related work.
Chairing a review meeting of her department here on Tuesday, Jayamala slammed tendency of department officials in general and child development project officers (CDPO) in particular to use anganwadi teachers for all and sundry work. “You use them for cattle and general census, and for various other works which forces them to give less time to development need of children under their care,” the minister said, adding this will not be tolerated.
The anganwadi teachers should be used and sparingly too for department related works such as follow up on distribution of Bhagyalakshmi bonds, creating awareness on various vaccination programmes for children mooted by department of health and family welfare, Jayamala said. “The government will shortly issue a directive in this regard,” the minister said, adding anganwadi teachers must be present at the anganwadis from 9.30am to 4pm.
It does not matter how their services are utilised beyond their regular duty hours and that too with due remuneration for such services availed, the minister said intervening in a discussion on the status of anganwadis in
Dakshina Kannada, her home district. Not ensuring the presence of anganwadi workers in their work place is detrimental to the interests of the children, who require full time attention and follow up of various tasks listed for their healthy growth, she said.
Also frowning on practice of certain department officials in misusing funds set aside for growth and development of children, Jayamala also said she is planning to introduce a transparency Act that will govern purchase of various items meant for this purpose. “Some of the items purchased do not have the statutory regulatory markings on them,” the minister observed adding the proposed Act will put an end to all such shady departmental purchases.
