J-K administration approves HR policy for anganwadi women workers, helpers

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday approved a human resources (HR) policy for anganwadi women workers and helpers employed with the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), a spokesperson said.

The decision to this effect was taken by the administrative council which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha here.

The HR policy will govern their quantum of leave, eligibility for training, capacity building and process for termination of services, he said. The new policy also clearly lays down age criteria for selection, with domicile of the Union territory being a prerequisite, the spokesperson said.

According to the policy, the minimum qualification for anganwadi workers will be class 12 and helpers class 10. They are free to work until they attain 60 years of age, the spokesperson said.

During the meeting, the council also decided to re-designate anganwadi women workers as "sanginis" and helpers as "sahayikas", the official said, adding the process to hire them was also streamlined to remove ambiguity.