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Original Article | Sociology | Volume 15 Issue 3, March 2026 | Pages: 1461 - 1466 | India
Role of Anganwadi Centres in Early Childhood Care: A Sociological Study on Rural Area of Uttar Dinajpur
Abstract: Early childhood is one of the most significant stages of individual’s life, shaping a child’s physical, emotional, cognitive and social development. In India the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) has been a cornerstone initiative scheme aimed at supporting young children, whose age below six years, along with pregnant and lactating mothers. At the grassroots level, Anganwadi centres play a vital role in delivering these services, especially in rural area. This study explores the role, functioning and challenges of Anganwadi centres in delivering early childhood care and pre-primary education in rural area of Raiganj block of Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal. Using a descriptive research design, the study is based on primary field data through interview with Anganwadi workers and parents, as well as direct observation from 20 Anganwadi centres. The findings of the study indicate that although these centres perform reasonably effective in providing basic nutrition and some health-related services, they face several challenges in ensuring quality early childhood care and education. Factors such as inadequate infrastructure, insufficient teaching-learning materials, irregular learning activities and limited monitoring systems affect their overall performance. The study also points out a clear gap between how Anganwadi workers view their work and how beneficiaries experience these services, indicating deeper concerns related to communication gaps and weak accountability mechanisms. Overall, the paper argues that despite the strong intentions underlying the ICDS programme, its effectiveness at the local level remains restricted due to persistent structural and operational constrains. It concludes by suggesting that strengthening infrastructural facilities, enhancing the capacity and training workers better, ensuring supervision and increasing community involvement to achieve holistic child development.
Keywords: ICDS, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Rural Infrastructure, Structural Constrains, Community Participation
How to Cite?: Sudipta Sarkar, "Role of Anganwadi Centres in Early Childhood Care: A Sociological Study on Rural Area of Uttar Dinajpur", Volume 15 Issue 3, March 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1461-1466, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26324090214, DOI: https://dx.dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26324090214