Tuesday 6 October 2020

Vulnerable Children and Pandemic


Press Note

Situation of Vulnerable Children during COVID-19 Pandemic

(Survey Report)

October 06, 2020


Closure of educational institutions carries an adverse impact on the children who are already facing numerous challenges in getting education or who are more likely to fall out of the main stream. These include children with special needs, students from remote areas, children of migrant workers, or children from families whose income has discontinued due to loss or uncertainty of employment. The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted or discontinued education of many children, or they might lag behind other children in studies due to this situation. As a result, a large number of children might remain out of the main stream of education even after normalcy is restored. Most of these out-of-school children are likely to fall into the trap of child labour.


We need to take a stock of the situation in order to address the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. What exactly are the children from various age groups doing during this period? Are they still in the main stream of education or have they fallen out, for the time being or permanently? Are they mentally preparing themselves to stop education and start working in order to financially support their families facing severe economic challenges? The Government has initiated certain measures for retaining these children in the main stream of education. Are these efforts reaching out to them? Are these children or their parents aware of the Government policies being designed in this direction? A survey was conducted through an online questionnaire to understand all of this.


This survey was organised by ARC (Action for the Rights of the Children) Network, Pune. NGOs working in and around the city of Pune, such as - Swadhar, Door Step School, Tara Mobile Crèches, New Vision, Nirman, Green Tara Foundation, Bhartiya Samaj Seva Kendra, India Sponsorship Committee, Save The Children, Kagad Kach Patra Kashtkari Panchayat, Identity Foundation, etc. facilitated the survey by approaching the children and their parents at the community level, for collecting the necessary information.


This survey was aimed at understanding whether the vulnerable children in the city are aware of COVID-19 or not; understanding what type of work and situation they are into; knowing the problems and needs of these children during this period. Questions were framed around the types of jobs taken up by these children during the lockdown period, status of their education, communication within the family, fulfilment of basic needs, COVID-19 prevention tools, change in the behaviour of the parents after getting stuck at the home, expectations from the Government and NGOs regarding education, food and water, financial security of the parents, current employment status, awareness about the initiatives towards education of the children, awareness about latest educational tools, and preparedness to face the situation once the lockdown is lifted. A total of 156 boys and girls below 20 years of age participated in this survey.


While everybody everywhere is worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, the children were found to be somewhat aware of the ongoing fight against the Coronavirus and the precautionary measures to be taken, thanks to the awareness created by the media and the NGOs. However, 20 percent of the children responding to the survey expressed the fear of being contracted with the Coronavirus. The children were also found to be worried about when this Coronavirus threat would go away. It was observed that this Coronavirus and the subsequent situation are affecting the mental growth of the children. The children are stuck at home for a long time, unsure of when they will be able to meet their friends again, whether or not their parents will remain safe from the spread of the Coronavirus, whether or not they will be going to school again, etc.


It was observed that the girls had to face many problems regarding personal hygiene during their menstrual cycle. While answering the questions asked in this regard, 37 percent girls informed that they were not using sanitary pads during periods. Either they could not afford the sanitary pads or these pads were not easily available for them. Also, a substantial number of girls mentioned that they were using a piece of cloth as a substitute to the sanitary pad. This is a serious issue related to the personal hygiene of the girls, which needs to be addressed by ensuring widespread availability of the sanitary pads at an affordable price.


Responding to the survey, 68 percent children informed that they were working at home or outside during the lockdown period. A substantial number of girls were found to be helping in the household chores during this period.


22 percent children mentioned that they did not study during the lockdown period. The reasons were told as no time for study, unavailability of smartphones, lack of guidance about what to study, and feeling bored to study since the schools are closed. In this regard, the response to the Government initiatives for education was not very positive. Almost 67 percent children informed that they did not receive any educational support from their schools. Similar response was recorded for the Government policy about online education. Almost 69 percent children responded that they were not aware of the educational app launched by the Government. 54 percent of the children who knew about such an app mentioned that they could not use this app on their own and needed support from someone else. 55 percent of them informed that they did not understand the content delivered through this educational app. Around 72 percent children reported that they did not watch the educational programmes on the television. 46 percent of the children who watched these programmes mentioned that they did not understand the content of the programmes.


Overall, the educational future of the children seems to be in trouble during the lockdown period. It is challenging to provide educational support through mobile phones and television to all those children who are struggling to get two meals a day. Even if mobile phones and television sets are available, it must be checked whether or not the content on the educational app is designed considering comprehension capacity of every child, whether all the children are able to understand the content or not, whether the online learning process runs smoothly for every child or not. Looking at the responses to the survey questions in this regard, it appears that the Government needs to rethink about their online education policy.


Discontinuation of the supply of Mid-day Meal from the schools has resulted into nutrition related problems for the children. The survey has revealed that around 76 percent children did not receive the Mid-day Meal during this period.


The parents and their children are stuck at home for the entire day during the lockdown period, which seems to have increased the communication among family members. 99 percent children mentioned that the mode of communication had shifted from mobile phones to in person dialogue. The increased communication between children and their parents or among the siblings can be seen as a positive change for the entire family during this period.


All the family members were stuck at home during the lockdown period, which seems to have impacted the domestic environment. Around 72 percent children informed that they had a pleasant environment at home, while 22 percent mentioned that the situation at home was just okay. 6 percent of the respondents informed that they were living in a stressful domestic environment during this period.


96 percent of the children informed that they received two meals a day through various sources during the lockdown period. 61 percent children mentioned that they had to use the public toilets and common water sources, which added to the fear about Coronavirus infection. 36 percent children reported that the public toilets were not cleaned on a daily basis.


Adults as well as the children are expecting concrete support from the Government during these critical times of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown. The news stories delivered by the media seem to influence the thoughts of all of them. The children and their parents feel insecure about the health services, food and grain supply, Coronavirus vaccine, employment opportunities, future of their education and career, etc. Explicit expectations from the Government were voiced by all of them.


Overall, the children were found during this survey to be worried and scared about the lockdown and spread of the Coronavirus, due to the corresponding news stories being constantly delivered through the media as well as various messages being circulated through the social media, and the impact of the pandemic on people from all sections of the society. Serious efforts are necessary to bring children out of this notion of worry and fear. The member organizations of Action for the Rights of the Children - ARC - hope that effective measures can be implemented to secure the educational, mental, physical future of the vulnerable children, if the facts revealed through this survey are conveyed to the concerned Government agencies and general public immediately.



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Sushant 7066138138

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