https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Education on Wheels Working Wonders on Bengaluru’s Anganwadi Kids

Two new initiatives for Anganwadi students have been launched in Bangalore under the leadership of BBMP Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath and Special Commissioner Ram Prasad Manohar. ‘Wonder on Wheels’ encourages children to explore nature while studying. Kirti Belaku reaches students in remote areas and helps them to study where they live.
Indian Masterminds Stories

To attract Anganwadi children towards learning and encourage reading, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has launched a slew of initiatives. One of these is the ‘Wonder on Wheels’, that was launched in collaboration with Freethinking Foundation and the Women and Child Development Department to provide a creative learning opportunity to marginalised children, in and around Bengaluru.

In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, BBMP Special Commissioner (Education), Ram Prasad Manohar, shared details about the initiatives.

WONDER ON WHEELS

“Through this programme, we wish to help Anganwadi children in exploring technology-driven and more sophisticated training and learning through exclusive resources,” shared Mr Manohar.

The initiative aims to bring the children out from their traditional Anganwadi and its four walls and take them to exciting locations, such as play areas, children’s parks, etc. where they can make use of available resources for a fun-filled learning session and could be taught in a natural environment for improving their learning capacity.

USING BMTC BUSSES

To launch the pilot project of this initiative, the BBMP purchased 10 Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses which have been revamped completely to suit the project’s requirements.

Architects have remodelled the bus with a detachable amphitheatre and musical areas, among others. The bus is furnished with detachable seating, shelves and storage to allow for free creative movement. Art, craft, musical instruments, library books and audio-visual systems, and permanent art and craft teachers will be present on the bus.

“We have appointed two Anganwadi teachers trained in Montessori schooling, a group D worker, who will be present in the buses. They will visit the Anganwadis where children will be escorted to the buses and will be taken to an outdoor location for their learning. The buses will be parked at a garden or park to help children learn in the open, in a stress-free environment, and explore nature,” he told Indian Masterminds.

The bus will be travelling across Bengaluru and stop by Anganwadis where children will be engaged for one hour in activities related to theatre, music, art, and culture. Each bus can accommodate up to 50 children who can learn in English, Kannada and Hindi mediums.

KIRTI BELAKU SCHEME

Another initiative launched by BBMP under the Kirti Belaku Scheme of the Karnataka Government helps children to study after school hours. There are numerous children in Anganwadis whose parents are not capable of helping them in their studies at home because of a lack of education, work commitments, or other issues. 

Such children are identified by the government and they are then tutored by teachers who have volunteered for the cause. These volunteers are educated individuals who have already graduated and are currently pursuing post-graduation. 

“We provide the volunteers with a stipend for their work. A proper set-up has been established for the students where they sit and read. This way their reading habits also get improved,” Mr Manohar told Indian Masterminds.

Apart from this, he is planning to inculcate co-curricular activities in the programme as well for an enhanced value system. Currently, the project is being implemented in 10 schools under BBMP on a pilot basis. The initiative has been successful until now and the officer has decided to upscale it soon.

MOTIVATING SCHOOL DROPOUTS

Due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, back in the year 2020, several school-going kids dropped out of their schools and bid farewell to studies. BBMP wished to include all such children in their programme as well so that these kids can once again get into the habit of reading and learning.

The officer and his team surveyed rural households and identified over 40,000 children who had dropped out of school within the last two years. BBMP then motivated the teachers of schools to visit the homes of these drop-outs and convince them to come back to the mainstream formal education system.

“We were able to retain most of these students except for 2000 people, who are mostly children from migrated communities and are not ready to come to schools anyhow. For them, we thought of launching mobile vans with learning facilities and teachers, which could reach their location and the students could learn from their remote locations,” Mr Manohar said.

Accordingly, BBMP has launched one mobile van in each zone of Bengaluru so that all remote locations can be covered.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
IAS Officers Indian Administrative Services
Good News: 40 Senior IAS Officers in Uttarakhand Adopt Their First Posting Villages to Boost Development, CM Dhami’s Innovative Initiative
IPS logo resized
Karnataka: No Anticipatory Bail for IPS Officer in Crypto Bribery Case; Lokayukta Court Orders Custodial Interrogation
IPS Officer Indian Police Services
16 IPS Officers from Gujarat, UP, Bihar Among Cadres Set to Retire Across India in June 2025
gujarat police
Gujarat: Govt Brings 11 IPS Officers From 2011 to 2015 Batches Under Old Pension Scheme
NHPC_resized_2
NHPC Awards ₹199 Cr Hydro-Mechanical Contract to Om Infra for 2880 MW Dibang Project
Navodaya
AI-Driven Future: GAIL India Ltd Becomes First Maharatna PSU to Go Live with SAP S/4HANA Cloud under Project Navodaya
Madhya Pradesh Logo IM
Rs 858 Crore in New Projects, 3,000 Jobs: Madhya Pradesh’s RISE-2025 Conclave Set to Transform Ratlam on June 27
Bhupender Yadav
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav Calls for Balance of Tradition and Science at Indian Conservation Conference 2025
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-25 at 5.07
Why Has the DGCA Fined Air India Rs 5 Crore Since Privatisation?
Former Diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar
Iran Is Weakest Now, Needs a Face-Saver
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-23 at 12.39
Retired Officers Lead 7-Day Mission to Revive Betwa River with 55 Check Dams | Video Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Sanish Kumar Singh
“If you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way,” Sanish Kumar Singh AIR 8, UPSC IFS 2024 
The real interview, he says, was much more humane. “The board was conversational. The chairman opened...
Raju Wagh
When the Battlefield Became a Study Room and a Dream Took Flight
Amid IED blasts and anti-Maoist operations in Bastar, CRPF Commando Raju Wagh taught village kids, studied...
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-18 at 10.31
"I Just Wanted to Breathe Again": The Man Who Fought Death and Made It to UPSC
Struck by COVID at the peak of his UPSC prep, Devanand Telgote spent months on ECMO, unsure he'd live,...
Social Media
Tigress Arrowhead
The End of an Era: A Queen Falls - Ranthambore’s Iconic Tigress Arrowhead (T-84) Passes Away at 14, Hours After Daughter’s Relocation
Ranthambore mourns the loss of one of its fiercest and most beloved tigers, Arrowhead, the granddaughter...
Screenshot 2025-06-13 194001
Wild Elephant Disrupts Riverside Picnic, Sparks Debate on Human Encroachment; IFS Parveen Kumar Shares the Video - Watch Here!
Mr. Kaswan used the viral video, which has garnered over 1.5 lakh views, to highlight the risks of human...
Tiger jump Sundarban
Stunning Viral Video Shows Royal Bengal Tiger Making Spectacular 30-Foot Leap Across River in Sunderbans - See It Here
Retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shared the clip online, which quickly went...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
IAS Officers Indian Administrative Services
Good News: 40 Senior IAS Officers in Uttarakhand Adopt Their First Posting Villages to Boost Development, CM Dhami’s Innovative Initiative
IPS logo resized
Karnataka: No Anticipatory Bail for IPS Officer in Crypto Bribery Case; Lokayukta Court Orders Custodial Interrogation
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-25 at 5.07
Former Diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-23 at 12.39
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT