The Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat on Monday, 22 June 2026 called on parents across the state to enrol their three-year-old children in the nearest Anganwadi centre as part of the statewide Anganwadi Praveshotsav, scheduled from 23 to 25 June 2026. The post, shared in Gujarati, states: 'Jyare baḷak Anganwadinu prathamu pagathiyu chaḍashe, tyare j to temna ujjaḷa bhaviṣhya thaki susikṣhit Gujaratnu sapnu sakār thashe' — 'When a child climbs the first step of the Anganwadi, only then will the dream of an educated Gujarat be realised through their bright future.' The drive is being held under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel as part of the broader Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani Mahotsav — Gujarat's twin annual campaigns for school enrollment and girl-child education.

Context

The announcement invokes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who christened upgraded Anganwadi centres as 'Nandghars' — a name evoking the mythological home of Lord Krishna's childhood, symbolising a nurturing environment for young children. The post frames these centres as the first step in a child's educational journey, reinforcing the state government's messaging around foundational learning. The Anganwadi Praveshotsav is a targeted sub-event within the larger enrollment festival, focusing specifically on children aged three years who are eligible to enter early childhood care and education for the first time.

Policy Backdrop

Anganwadi centres operate under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, launched nationally in 1975, which delivers nutrition, health check-ups, and pre-school education to young children and mothers. Gujarat has run its Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani Mahotsav annually since the early 2000s — campaigns that originated during Narendra Modi's tenure as Chief Minister of the state and have since become institutional fixtures in the state education calendar. The Nandghar initiative, introduced around 2015–2017, aimed to modernise select Anganwadis with improved infrastructure, sanitation, and digital tools, aligning local delivery with national ambitions under the National Education Policy framework for foundational literacy and numeracy.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the drive are children aged three years and their families, particularly in rural and semi-urban Gujarat where awareness of formal early childhood education can be limited. Anganwadi workers — the frontline functionaries of the ICDS network — play a central role in mobilising communities during the three-day event. The Kanya Kelavani Mahotsav component places a specific emphasis on girl children, reflecting the state's sustained focus on bridging gender gaps in educational participation from the earliest stage of schooling. Community leaders, local elected representatives, and school administrators typically participate in enrollment ceremonies during the festival.

What's Next

With the Anganwadi Praveshotsav set to run from 23 to 25 June 2026, the state administration is expected to track enrollment figures across districts as a measure of the campaign's reach. Participation data from this cycle will likely inform decisions on expanding or upgrading Nandghar centres in subsequent government reviews. The annual nature of these drives means that the 2026 edition will be benchmarked against prior years' enrollment numbers — a metric that Gujarat's education department has historically used to signal progress toward universal foundational education.