19.11.2012 Views

Snakes and Ladders - ERU Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

Snakes and Ladders - ERU Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

Snakes and Ladders - ERU Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Unlike maternal nutrition, a more direct link can be forged between other programmes (e.g.<br />

ICDS) <strong>and</strong> the ability of children to enter <strong>and</strong> successfully complete primary schooling. The table<br />

below provides a comprehensive survey of the differing impact of provision <strong>and</strong> utilisation of<br />

social services for children <strong>and</strong> their impact on educational – outcomes of children in the 0-11<br />

age group that have emerged from our study.<br />

In the case of the ICDS programme there is a clear disjunction between the stated concerns <strong>and</strong><br />

praxis of the AWW. The teachers claim that they too want to ensure a functioning centre <strong>and</strong> that<br />

efforts should be made to ensure that children from poor families come. In the urban areas of<br />

Karnataka <strong>and</strong> Andhra Pradesh, most of the children are from SC / beggar / daily wage families.<br />

However, reaching out to these children still remains a big concern. For instance, 4-year-old<br />

Geeta who lives in the urban slum of AP is left out on the streets as everyone in her household<br />

goes to work. For Geeta, a functioning AWC would have made all the difference in that she<br />

would be in a safe <strong>and</strong> perhaps stimulating environment instead of being left to her own devices.<br />

Her parents do not seem to have the wherewithal to ask any questions or dem<strong>and</strong> a better service.<br />

They just cannot interact with the AWW with any degree of confidence. One cannot escape the<br />

conclusion that the AWCs we saw in all the three states were some distance from ensuring<br />

nutritional support or pre school education. In sharp contrast to primary schools, the community<br />

too was unaware of the significance of the AWC for pre-school children <strong>and</strong> its implications for<br />

primary schooling.<br />

Table 28: Summarising the institutional factors<br />

Factors influencing successful primary school completion<br />

Mild +, Strong ++, Very Strong +++ <strong>and</strong> Extremely Strong ++++<br />

Boys Girls<br />

Positive Negative Positive Negative<br />

Child health <strong>and</strong> immunisation<br />

Sustained education / awareness about immunisation +++ +++<br />

Sustained education about situation of girl children ++++<br />

Regular availability of immunisation services +++ +++<br />

Motivated ANM / health worker +++ +++<br />

Easy accessibility of health facilities +++ +++<br />

Non-availability of healthcare facilities within reach ++ +++<br />

Nutrition <strong>and</strong> pre-school education<br />

Location of AWC – forward caste area ++ ++<br />

Location of AWC closer to disadvantaged groups +++ +++<br />

ICDS centre functional – opens every day ++++ ++++<br />

ICDS centre irregular +++ +++<br />

Regularity of Aanganwadi worker ++++ ++++<br />

Educational Resource Unit Page 86 April 2003

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!