Education
Strategy
Deprived Urban Children (DUC)
AIF Experiences and Learnings
Currently AIF is supporting work in slums in Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh with Pratham (since 2002), in Jaipur with Bodh Shiksha Samiti (since 2005). AIF will also support work with street children with the Yusuf Mehrally Trust through Samya in Delhi. All 3 programs are on scale.
Our experience so far shows:
- Need to move from generic to specific, and from single to multiple strategies to address the varied situations of children of the urban poor.
- Need to improve government schools in terms of coverage, quality, and equity, to ensure maximum possible children enter the mainstream.
- Necessary to expand the network of alternate facilities to access-less areas, which should eventually be converted to formal schools.
- On the issue of street children, it is necessary to address shelter, care, meals, health, abuse (drug, physical, sexual), etc. in addition to education
- While starting with the 6-14 year age group, there needs to be a plan for the entire 0-18 age group
- Community organization is the biggest challenge.
- SSA focus on DUC less than satisfactory, need to push the agenda
- Costs of working with DUC high, need to revise provisions under EGS & AIE
- This area needs serious attention in research & documentation. This will be built into our partners’ work.