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Education News

titled ‘Study of Anganwadis in 5 Dis- that the Union Budget 2024-25 has
tricts of Karnataka, India: Infrastruc- not increased allocation to the ICDS
ture Facilities and Schemes through programme. Nor did it talk about the
the Anganwadis’ and written by En- government Poshan bhi padhai bhi
suring Social Protection (ESP), a col- and Saksham (nutrition with learn-
lective of NGOs and activists, reveals ing schemes) for anganwadis. If an-
that a mere 25 percent of 315 angan- ganwadis are to be upgraded and AWC
wadis surveyed provide milk to chil- workers trained to deliver ECCE, the
dren five days a week as mandated by Centre and states need to substantially
the state government; only 21 percent boost budgetary outlays for AWCs,”
have functional toilets; 18.7 percent says Dr. Venita Kaul, professor
lack a functional filter for drinking (emirata) and founder-director of
water; and over 70 percent compro- Centre for Early Childhood Educa-
mise on mid-day meals as “vegetable tion and Development at Ambedkar
supply had been halted for four years”. University, Delhi.
The anganwadis surveyed have found As has been repeatedly highlighted
cheaper “food alternatives” compro- by EducationWorld, which has been
mising the nutritional needs of young- championing the cause of compulsory
est children. provision of professionally adminis-
he timing of this report — soon tered ECCE since 2010, the root prob-
Tafter the state government an- lem is grossly inadequate provisions
nounced plans to upgrade the state’s made for AWCs in the Centre and state
65,000 anganwadi centres (AWCs) government budgets. In the Union each AWC is managed by one cook-
with an enrolment of 3.6 million chil- Budget 2024-25 presented to Parlia- worker-teacher paid a rock-bottom
dren — has embarrassed the year-old ment on July 23, Union finance min- monthly wage of Rs.8,000-10,000 —
Congress party government which ister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated a to increase which they frequently call
against expectation, was voted to mere Rs.21,200 crore for the country’s strikes.
power in Bengaluru with a large ma- 1.4 million anganwadis. Meanwhile perhaps in response
jority primarily because it promised a Similarly for 2024-25, Karnataka’s to the damning ESP Report, the state
wide range of freebies. Among them: (Congress) government provided government has imprinted photo-
including free bus travel for wom- Rs.4,500 crore for the state’s 65,000 graphs of the chief minister, deputy
en, free electricity upto 200 units, anganwadis with an enrollment of 3.6 chief minister and child welfare min-
and Rs.2,000 monthly assistance to million children — Rs.12,500 per child ister on newly issued notebooks for
women heading families. However, per year — an amount insufficient to AWC children.
the mandate of NEP 2020 to integrate provide adequate nutrition, let alone Reshma Ravishanker (Bengaluru)
ECCE with primary schools is bad quality pre-primary education.
news for the state’s 69,000 anganwadi However, while admitting that WEST BENGAL
workers, who fear for their jobs. “there’s a severe budget crunch”,
Therefore in early June, the state Varalakshmi, president of CITU Case for barefoot
government assured them it will not (Centre of Indian Trade Unions)
promote any new pre-primary sec- which represents the Anganwadi doctors
tions in its schools beyond the 2,786 Workers Association, believes that the
already sanctioned. AWC workers ESP report does not present “an accu- month after writing to prime
were assured the government will rate picture” of the state’s anganwadis. Minister Narendra Modi
focus on training them to deliver for- “Data from just four districts cannot A urging him to abolish the Na-
mal ECCE. Now with the ESP report be extrapolated to represent the entire tional Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test
exposing the pathetic condition and state. Who was questioned for the sur- (NEET) for admission into medical
record of AWCs in fulfilling their pri- vey? Has someone authenticated the colleges countrywide, on July 24
mary mandate of providing nutrition data? There are some anganwadis in the state’s cabinet headed by chief
to youngest children, educationists the state which are doing an excellent minister Mamata Banerjee passed
are sceptical about their preparedness job,” says Varalakshmi. an official resolution calling for the
to provide acceptable quality pre-pri- While there may be some model abolition of NEET. This official reso-
mary education. anganwadis in the state, it’s well- lution came a day after the Supreme
“Anganwadis need significantly known that the great majority of them Court dismissed all writ petitions
greater budgetary allocation. It’s sad are in pathetic condition. For one, seeking cancellation and re-test of

28 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2024