Anganwadi centres low on socio-emotional quotient: Survey

Jaipur: The Anganwadi centres (AWC) in Rajasthan are low on socio-emotional quotient, says a survey which claimed that only 15% of its students responded confidently while talking to strangers or researchers while 45% of the students in government schools have displayed confidence with strangers.

Overall 20% of the children were observed to be actually crying in response to the presence of strangers, this indicates that 80% students have indicated of being secure. The percentage of students in private and Anganwadi centres showcased shyness and displayed anxiety, which was much higher than those from government schools. The survey was done for Early Childhood Education jointly by UNICEF, ASER and Ambedkar University.

The report says that activity-based learning programme has a direct relationship with the behaviour of students. "The activity-based learning helps children come out of their shells and participate which makes them feel more secure and confident. The AWC students have taken a backseat due to less preference to the activity-based learning," said KB Kothari, managing trustee, Pratham, an NGO. Another reason that the report explains is AWC have a higher number of students in the age group of 2-3 contrary to the pre-school age of 3-6.

The percentage of children feeling confident is higher in primary schools despite it not being an ideal place for early childhood eduction (ECE). The reason is that many underage children join primary school along with their elder brothers and sisters. Experts say that higher percent of confident pre-primary students is not because of activity-based learning. The high percentage of pre-primary children in primary schools has forced the state education department to establish ECE centres in the primary schools.

The state also fares poorly on one of the major aspects of socialization of greeting. Barely 21% of pre-school students greeted observers. The habit of greeting at this level is generally absorbed from the teachers' behaviour.