Angan Wadi Centre as the medium for socio-economic inclusion
Some innovative practices launched in Tripura1
A welfare state envisages welfare of all its citizens. It has been found that usually
people living in the urban area gets benefits under various on-going Government plan and
programmes. Those living in rural and interior areas particularly those belonging to
disadvantaged groups have been found to be deprived of such benefits on account of
various factors. With a view to overcome this, social inclusion has been taken as a key
feature in formulation and implementation of various plans and programmes, with the main
objective of extending benefits to disadvantaged segments like the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes, Minorities, Disabled, etc. Provision of an institutional mechanism for
extending the benefits to the people living in interior areas is essential for achieving the
noble objective of making various plans and programmes socially inclusive.
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme was launched in the
country on pilot basis in a few selected blocks in 1975. In due course, this programme was
extended to all the blocks in rural areas as well as urban areas. Under this programme,
which is implemented by the Department of Social Welfare & Social Education in the State,
Angan Wadi Centre (AWC) is set up in each and every habitation for providing a package of
essential services to each child up to 6 years age and pregnant and nursing mother,
irrespective of income level and poverty line. ICDS services comprise of (i) immunisation, (ii)
regular health check-up, (iii) referral to health centre, (iv) nutritional education, (v)
preschool education and (vi) supplementary nutrition. In Tripura, as many as 9,911 AWCs
have been set up at habitation level. Each AWC is being run by one Angan Wadi Worker
(AWW) with help of an Angan Wadi Helper (AWH) engaged on honorarium basis from the
local community. Under the universalization of ICDS taken up since 2010, concerted efforts
are on for setting up a pucca building with safe drinking water and toilet facilities in each
AWC and enrolling each and every child and mother of the habitation for provision of the six
services. AWCs are being taken as the hub for holding village health and sanitation day at
regular intervals.
1
Written by Dr S K Panda, IAS, Chief Secretary, Tripura, sanjaypandaias@gmail.com. Views expressed are
personal.
As an innovative measure, the AWC network is being used in Tripura for provision of
services other than ICDS in the interior areas by bringing about synergy at the grass root
level, some of which have been discussed in this write-up.
Improving quality of nutrition
With a view to improve the quality of supplementary nutrition, cooked food in shape
of khichudi is being given to all the children up to the age of six years and pregnant and
nursing mothers daily in the AWC. This is being funded under the ICDS shared by the central
and state governments on 90:10 basis with a unit cost of Rs 4.00 per child per day, Rs. 6.00
per child (who is severely underweight) per day and Rs. 5.00 per pregnant and nursing
mothers per day. With the increase in the cost of pulses, there are difficulties in maintaining
and improving quality of supplementary nutrition.
With a view to overcome this difficulties, an exercise was taken for raising kitchen
garden in each AWC comprising of three selected species, viz. papaya, drumstick and green
banana (curry variety). These species were selected as these are perennial in nature, give
fruits throughout the year over a long time and do not require much maintenance like
seasonal vegetables. These fruits are rich in minerals, iron, and vitamins and mixed in
Kichudi during cooking, which make it delicious and nutritious.
Improving quality of pre-school education
Yet another innovation taken up in Tripura recently relates to improving the quality
of preschool education in the interior areas. Under ICDS, preschool education facility is
being provided in the local Bengali medium for which educational kit at a cost of Rs 1000/- is
being provided per centre per year. There has been a demand among the local villagers for
improving quality of preschool education and teaching in English medium in particular.
Number of private nursery school has come up locally for meeting this need. However only
the relatively well-to-do people are able to send their children to such school and quality of
education in such institutions is not up to the mark. As an innovative measure, audio visual
means with built-in modules were provided to a few selected nurseries. Such equipment
costing about Rs 20,000 each was provided to a few AWCs which have power connectivity in
the West Tripura District. The AWWs have been trained for imparting preschool education
using this facility. This has been widely appreciated by the children and the local villagers
mostly belonging to Scheduled Tribes.
With a view to stress on quality education, particularly for enrolment of all children
in the age group of below six years, in the AWC for getting preschool education, the DM &
Collector, West Tripura District had motivated the parents of children to utilise fifteen days
of wages provided under MGNREGA for providing school uniform including socks, shoes and
tie to each children. This has gained got lot of enthusiasm among the local people and
improving the quality of ICDS in general and helping the poorer section in particular.
Achieving Universal literacy
The other innovation relates to using the AWC as the base for making the left out
illiterate women literate. Tripura has the distinction of being the 4th highest in literacy as per
2011 census [ literacy rate of 87.75% with a gender gap of 9.03% (male: 92.18% and female:
83.15%) ]. Further the State got the first prize in reducing the gap between male and female
literacy during the decade 2001 to 2011. But there was no room for complacency in making
the state totally literate and an exercise has been taken up for locating and tracking each
and every illiterate in the age group of 18 to 50 years for making them literate at the
shortest possible time. A list of all illiterate women was prepared based on Register of
Ordinary Residents (ROR) maintained in each gram panchayat. The AWW was encouraged to
run adult literacy centre in AWC for making these women literate after the normal timing of
ICDS activities.
With a view to make it attractive for the adult learners, setting up of the kitchen
garden in the AWC was linked up with literacy and provision of wage employment under
MGNREGA. Raising of kitchen garden was taken up in the AWCs having land under
MGNREGA by using the labour for raising the garden and for making the illiterate women
literate after the working hours. This venture aims at multiple objectives of provision of
wage employment under MGNREGA near the habitation, improving the quality of
supplementary nutrition provided under ICDS and making the left out illiterate women
literate. An intensive programme has been launched for providing required facilities to the
left out illiterates at a place nearby their stay for becoming literate by the 31 st August 2013.
In this context, the AWC and staff working in the ICDS have been playing a pivotal role.
In the instances narrated above, attempts have been made for using the Angan Wadi
Centres setup under ICDS at habitation level as a medium for providing quality health,
nutrition and pre-school education services in the rural areas. It is somewhat similar to a
railway line, on which several train carrying goods and passengers run without having
separate line for each train. Success of these endeavours is largely attributed to the active
participation of the people, involvement of the Panchayati Raj Institutions at the grass root
level, the untiring zeal and enthusiasm of young, motivated officers. It provides an
alternative to the traditional approach of seeking more fund and enhanced outlays for
improving quality of public services by unleashing the strength of the people’s power- the
ultimate resource and channelizing it as the key to sustainable development.
Fresh cooked meal (Kichudi made of rice, dal and vegetable
being served to children below 6 years in an Angan Wadi Centre(AWC)
Kitchen garden with Papaya tree raised in premises of the Angan Wadi Centre(AWC).
The fruit(papaya) is added to kichudi, which enriches it with vitamins at an affordable cost
with community participation
Children with uniform in the Angan Wadi Centre(AWC).
The computer based audio visual set is being used for imparting pre-school education
in English medium.
Local villagers in a function organised at the Angan Wadi Centre(AWC)
News published in a local daily