Kids need role models to face poverty

HYDERABAD: Neither  economic liberation nor social welfare measures have managed to alleviate poverty beyond a limited extent. Researchers feel this is because of the lack of emphasis on the psycho-social indicators. “Are our children dreaming enough? Are they aspiring to break away from the current life cycle of poverty?” asks professor S Galab. 

Galab says the children he surveyed had displayed a sense of deprivation that was not just economic, something psychological that was preventing them from changing their situation. They did not have enough role models who had climbed up the ladder themselves. For instance, will a child who is forced into early labour or marriage due to institutional reasons aspire to break the chain when their turn comes?
Galab says most children do, indeed, aspire to break the chain but they have no clue how to go about it. This is probably due to lack of expertise among people who train them, like school teachers and anganwadi workers, and, again, lack of role models who have succeeded earlier. One of the examples cited by researchers was how teachers manage children who drop out of school for long periods. 

Children who are forced to go on long leaves due to occupational reasons of their parents, and take up gender-based chores at home, are usually subjected humiliation and corporal punishment by teachers in school. “The question that needs to be asked here is are [the children] equipped to handle such circumstances? And, even if the children continue to study, can you guarantee they [will] become employable,” ask researchers. 

Dr Renu Singh, country director of Young Lives India says if India is serious about achieving the Millennium Development Goals it should consider having an exclusive ministry for child welfare. “From our understanding, policies relating to children are fragmented among departments. So, despite them being exhaustive, the impact is lost in implementation and due to lack of coordination,” she says.

WHAT THE GOVT SAYS 
Etela Rajender, Minister for Finance, Planning and Civil Supplies, present at the event, highlighted the government’s efforts in fixing the disparities of  underprivileged children. “There are some shortcomings, but the government is committed to fixing those. When initially planning the budget, we realised that the central government gave only `18,000 crore to provide for 15 eggs. But we were committed to the cause and increased it to 30 eggs for 30 days.”