Now Reading: Tumakuru childcare centres struggle as Rs 15 per child falls short
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Tumakuru childcare centres struggle as Rs 15 per child falls short
The Vatsalya Childcare Centres in Tumakuru, launched in 2022 for children of government employees, are running on a tight budget. The Women and Child Development Department provides Rs 15 per child daily,…
The Story in Brief
The Vatsalya Childcare Centres in Tumakuru, launched in 2022 for children of government employees, are running on a tight budget. The Women and Child Development Department provides Rs 15 per child daily, disbursed quarterly based on attendance. Across two centres, 48 children are enrolled, but monthly allocations of Rs 30,000 to Rs 33,000 cover salaries, lunch, and snacks for only a few hours. Staff honarariums, Rs 10,000 for teachers and Rs 6,000 for assistants, have not been increased since the centres opened.
The centres are run by the Sharadamba Stree Shakti Federation under departmental supervision. The federation says it continues operations largely because the roles provide income to its members, but the inadequate funding makes the centres a financial burden. Deccan Herald reports that without greater government support, the model may not survive.
The Indian Opinion
The Vatsalya centres were meant to help working mothers, but the arithmetic is stark. At Rs 15 per child per day, the government is spending roughly Rs 720 per child per month, yet staff honorariums have not risen in four years. The narrative that government schemes are generous to beneficiaries ignores the squeeze on grassroots operations. The federation says it runs the centres mainly to provide employment, a confession that the model is unsustainable. The real test will come when the next quarterly release is due: will Tumakuru’s enrolment hold, or will staff attrition shut the doors?
Source: deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
