Poverty and academic outcomes - THE CRIPPLING EFFECT

Narayanan N Jan 23 , 2017

Family and social environment of children have a greater impact on their performance than the quality of teaching at school.
India has made appreciable progress in primary education in recent decades as for as enrolment of children in school is concerned. But drop-out rate and poor performance of children in government schools, where most of the poor students study, are problems evading solution.

Studies have shown that even after 4-5 years of schooling, children fail in simple tests of reading, addition and subtraction. Inadequate infrastructure, high student–teacher ratio and poor quality of teaching are the reasons traditionally attributed for this situation. While these reasons are valid enough, there is increasing realisation across the world that poverty is the major factor affecting educational outcomes especially at the primary stage.

It is now recognised in many countries that family and social environment of the children have a greater impact on the performance of children than the quality of teaching at school (Unicef). Children from poor families score significantly lower in vocabulary, communication skills, simple arithmetic and the ability to concentrate compared to children from higher income households.

The differences start showing up at the age of 3-4, even before the start of schooling and are found to last even in later years as shown by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which assessed reading, math and science scores of 15-year old children in 43 countries. The traditional misconception that underperformance is due to genetic or hereditary factors was challenged by child psychologists in the second half of the 20th century who came to the conclusion that intelligence is shaped more by the environment in which the children grow up.

A study by World Health Organisation has shown that maternal health during pregnancy and the quality of antenatal and postnatal care she receives are important factors affecting child’s physical and mental development. Lack of adequate nutrition for the pregnant mother can affect normal brain development of the child. Most women and children from poor families are deprived of medical care and nourishing food when it is most needed.

As a result, premature birth and low birth weight are more common among the poor which in turn leads to disabilities like attention and memory deficit (Commission on the Social Determinants of Health-Early Child Development of the WHO). As the development of brain occurs mainly during the early phase of life, nutritional deficiency at this stage has a lasting effect on the psychological and intellectual growth of the child.

Early years are crucial for the development of cognitive and social skills in children. Along with nutrition and medical care, nurturing relationships and inspiring role models also play a vital role in the early phase of a child’s life. But being over worked and over stressed, poor parents are unable to show warmth and sensitivity and tend to be harsh and high-handed with their children. The consequent emotional disturbance affects the child’s social adaptability and learning capability. Hence, poor parents need to be helped to learn parenting skills so that their frustrations are not passed on to the children.

Playing with toys, reading and listening to stories, reciting rhymes etc develop curiosity, imagination and a sense of exploration in children. But having been deprived of these joys in their childhood, the poor parents don’t realise its importance. Even the few who realise its value, find themselves helpless for want of money and time.

A number of countries have carried out extensive research for finding ways to mitigate the negative effects of poverty on child development and at least two worthwhile approaches have emerged out of this quest. One of these approaches adopted by countries like Mexico and Nicaragua is the Conditional Cash Transfer programme which is linked to immunisation, nutrition and school attendance. This approach has resulted in significant improvements in educational outcomes of poor children. Another approach which is found equally effective is the Early Childhood Intervention programme (ECIP) adopted in countries like Canada and USA.

Comprehensive development
Apart from improving the school performance of children, the implementation of ECIP has also contributed, over a period, to general prosperity according to researchers who monitored the project on a continual basis. The National Head Start Programme of USA is one of the earliest and most successful Early Childhood Intervention programmes. The NHSP aims at comprehensive development of preschool children (3-5 years) of poor parents.

The programme designed by paediatrician Dr Robert Cooke and professor of psychology Dr Edward Zigler prepares children for school while also focussing on involving parents in the education of children. It also focuses on prenatal and postnatal care of mother and nutritional needs and immunisation of children. The programme tries to develop cognitive and social skills in children by a combination of play and instruction.

In course of time, many countries adopted similar programmes although with some variations. But the focus everywhere was to provide support to children in the form of learning activities and training the parents to enhance their capacity for providing a care giving environment at home.

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement studied the Early Childhood Intervention Programmes of eight countries and published the findings in February 2016. Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Poland, the Russian Federation and the United States participated in the programme and submitted data on their early childhood development programmes. The study of the data proves conclusively that well designed interventions can advance child development and education in the early years and a successful adult life later.

India needs to replicate such interventions much more vigorously as the severity of poverty here is more acute in the absence of comparable social security measures. While it is worthwhile to replicate interventions whose efficacy has already been proved elsewhere, it is necessary to adopt the interventions to suit the local conditions. First generation learners, whose parents and forefathers were denied education for economic, religious and cultural reasons, need special care and attention to ensure that they don’t lag behind others.

LINK TO DECCAN HERALD ARTICLE : Click Here

The never-ending ordeal of migrant workers

Narayanan N Nov 22, 2016,

Every year, hundreds of young people from villages arrive in cities in search of jobs with hopes of freedom from poverty and indebtedness, leaving behind their families, friends and homes. Uneconomic land holdings, decline of cottage industries and handicraft, erratic monsoon, lack of irrigation facilities, degradation of the environment, lack of protection from natural calamities, increasing indebtedness etc are the main reasons for rural to urban migration.

A large majority of rural population are landless labourers. Agriculture provides them only seasonal work of six to seven months in a year. Even when they get work, wages are abysmally low. They have nothing to fall back upon when work is not available. Many of them including those with small land holdings are forced to borrow from money lenders as they find procedures of banks complex and daunting.

People from remote, backward villages and those belonging to socially and economically backward communities are the most affected by rural destitution. Migration to the city is an attempt to escape from poverty and in many a case from the tyranny of the unjust, oppressive and hierarchical caste system.

Most of the migrants retain their links with the village and return when seasonal work is available and again go back to the cities when there is no work in the village.
Earlier, migration of labourers was mainly to cities in their own home states. Now, with the spread of communication and information, they have begun to explore their fortunes beyond their own home states. Agents and contractors have sprung up who recruit workers in large groups to work in distant cities.

Large number of people from states like Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which have the largest number of landless labourers are now working in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat (UNESCO/ UNICEF, 2012b). Even Kerala which was traditionally known for outward migration is now attracting workers from Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. Migrants now constitute 10% of the state’s population (Labour and Rehabilitation Department, Kerala).

The workers soon realise that the ordeal does not end with migration to the city. Even in the period of much flaunted high economic growth, the only sector which opened up noteworthy employment opportunities was the service sector. It has not made any difference to the 287 million illiterate adults of employable age in India (Global Monitoring Report-UNESCO 2014).

As the present model of development is not able to stimulate growth in manufacturing and agriculture sectors — which employ the illiterate, the unskilled and the semi-skilled — they have been left in the lurch. This kind of progress is best described as the engine steaming ahead leaving behind the coaches.

Construction sector is the only one which has absorbed such workers in significant numbers. Construction Workers Welfare Boards (CWWB) set up in all states levy 1% cess on the construction cost of buildings. The fund is meant to be used for providing financial assistance to the families of beneficiaries in case of accident, for old age pension, housing loans, payment of insurance premium, education of children, medical and maternity benefits etc.

Unregistered workers
As per the latest figures, the amount collected so far has grown into a huge corpus fund of Rs 27000 crore (Union Ministry of Labour) and this amount is lying idle. The rules for disbursement stipulate that only workers who register with the CWWB are eligible to claim the benefits under the scheme. Only 2.2 crore of the estimated 4.46 crore workers in the construction industry (Report of Lok Sabha’s Standing Committee on Labour 2013-14) are registered. Large number of applications are kept pending for long periods on flimsy technical reasons. The indifference of bureaucracy together with the ignorance of workers has resulted in the amount remaining unutilised.

Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act was passed in 1979 to regulate the working conditions of migrant workers. The important features of this Act are elimination of middlemen, listing the responsibilities of employers and contractors, ensuring wages equal to those of local employees, right to return home periodically without loss of wages, right to medical care and housing at the employment site.

But these stipulations are rarely implemented by the states as there is no mechanism to ensure monitoring and enforcement of them. Lack of organisational support to protect the interest of migrant workers is also a reason for this situation. Even in a state like Kerala with high level of awareness of workers’ rights, unions have failed to integrate migrant workers into the mainstream, the ostensible reason being language barrier.

Migrant workers live and work in degrading conditions. They are made to work more and paid less than local workers. They live in makeshift shelters where there is no provision of safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation. They are deprived of the benefits of welfare schemes like subsidised food grains and healthcare due to identity issues. As workers have to move from place to place in search of work, schooling of their children poses a big problem.

Though internal migrants now constitute 35% of the country’s population and contribute 10% to GDP (NSSO 2007-08), politicians have ignored them as they don’t have voting rights at their place of work. The issues are not insurmountable if politicians and the administration become proactive. For example, as Aadhar serves as an identity document across states, it can be used for introducing portability of ration cards and health cards.

Activists and NGOs have suggested setting up of help lines, dormitories, daycare centres to take care of children while women labourers are away at work, adequate number of public toilets, mobile schools etc to reduce the ordeal of migrant workers. These issues need to be addressed on a war-footing to ensure that migrant workers lead a life of dignity and not as second-class citizens in their own country.

LINK TO DECCAN HERALD ARTICLE  : Click Here