Snakes and Ladders - ERU Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

malnourishment and the cognitive development / ability of children. Children who were thin and
short were doing as well in school despite putting in several hours of work at home. Do we then
need to revise our notion of appropriate age to height, height to weight measurements? Are the
Indian standards drawn from the more well to do population? Obviously this study is not in a
position to make any conclusive statement on this issue.
A key issue here is that policy-makers and programme managers are still unwilling to take on
board the existing social practices and tailor IEC and behaviour change communication strategies
to ground realities. We all accept that a number of traditional practices are not conducive to the
overall well-being of children. Yet, we cannot afford to ignore them since understanding why
people believe what they do and taking that as a point of departure is perhaps the first step in
initiating meaningful communication.
Another significant factor that emerged during the course of this study as well as previous
quantitative as well as qualitative studies (Ramachandran 2002, Jha and Jhingran 2002) is one of
changing social norms with regard to schooling. Discussions in rural Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh revealed that sending children to school has become a norm in the community. This
transformation in social norms and practices has occurred in the last eight to ten years.
Government initiated campaigns (Chinnara Angala, Ma Marali Shale, Chaduvula Pandaga),
intensive NGO led mobilisation against child labour (notably the contribution of M V Foundation
in Andhra Pradesh) and sustained efforts to make school a joyful experience (Nalikali and
Kalinali of Karnataka) have made a major difference. The governments of Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh have ensured that teachers reach the schools and tried to address cadre management
concerns to rationalize teacher deployment. Conversely, lack of sustained mobilisation and
corresponding governmental efforts to ensure functioning schools is perhaps responsible for the
persistent apathy with respect to education, especially for the poor who rely on government
schools.
Role of services and institutions:
Another dimension relates to the impact of services and institutions on the ability of children to
access and successfully complete primary schooling. An important message filtering through the
study is that notwithstanding social, economic and cultural factors that impact on the lives of
children, the presence of a functioning school can help surmount most barriers. Similarly,
Educational Resource Unit Page 82 April 2003