How stakeholders can come together to strengthen India’s network of creches

Childcare is a collective responsibility to create human capital for the future through care, nurture and stimulation. It requires participation of multiple stakeholders within a society. Universal access to childcare services is essential for achieving various societal objectives, including gender equality, child development and workforce participation. 

To navigate the complexities of childcare programmes, it is crucial to engage all relevant stakeholders. Convergence requires various forms of partnership, such as convergence between different departments of the government; partnership between the government, communities and non-profits; partnership between the non-profits and employers, among others. 

The strategies involve partnering for resources, capacities, infrastructure and with different agencies to ensure overall development. Hence mapping must be done in the context of the health, nutrition, WASH, education and allied themes like local governance and rural development. 

It must also be in alignment with other factors, such as the programme implementation,  fundings and technical expertise. All these elements need to be brought together to develop a comprehensive policy and interventions. 

Read more: What India can do to strengthen community-based foster care for children in need of nurturing

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme is responsible for delivering a comprehensive set of services to children under the age of six. However, there is substantial untapped potential to enhance coordination with various other government departments and ministries, such as those for rural development, tribal welfare and education. 

Piloting and upscaling of such childcare models in convergence with inter-connected departments providing services to women and children could be tested on a smaller scale before implementing them broadly. 

Several states have already taken commendable initiatives in this direction. In Karnataka, 4,000 creches are being established through the rural development and Panchayati Raj departments within the sites for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act projects. 

In Odisha, the department for Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste development and minorities and backward classes welfare is currently running creches in 61 villages across 12 districts to address malnutrition issues among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) areas with a plan to saturate all the PVTG villages in the coming years. While the Odisha government used the district mineral funds to operate childcare services in collaboration with the women and child development department, the state of Haryana has taken a step forward by formulating a creches policy. 

These examples highlight the potential for resource mobilisation and collaboration with other interconnected departments to improve childcare services and their outcomes. Training for childcare workers is pivotal in ensuring the delivery of high-quality services. 

A consortium of expert institutions can play a significant role in developing a standardised module with some customisation based on local contexts. 

Community engagements are central to achieving quality childcare. The community could play an active role in shaping childcare services by participating in need assessment, identifying spaces for childcare, mobilising access to services and regularly monitoring the outcomes. In most cases, the government does not invest in the community building processes, which sometimes plays a hindrance for the sustainability of the programme.

Challenges & road ahead

Even though multiple forms of partnership have been experimented with and the learnings have helped improve the models, there were multiple challenges that had to be overcome. Stakeholder convergent models have not been studied enough to gauge the complexities of this approach.

Partnership between public and non-governmental organisations would allow for pooling of resources, expertise and data, and facilitate the development and implementation of sound policies and regulations. Governments can offer financial support, guidance on best practices, and regulatory frameworks, while non-profit and private entities can contribute innovation, flexibility and specialised knowledge. Such a synergy would ensure that childcare services reach a broader segment of the population, bridging gaps in the demand and supply for childcare services. 

When childcare models are implemented through multiple departments and tiers of government structures, there is a need to strengthen governance by forming a national- and state-level core committee to monitor convergence from all other implementing departments concerned for better integration, tracking of the programme and avoiding duplication.  

Engaging with local elected leaders is still an untapped opportunity. Local funds are made available to Panchayats through the 73rd amendment of 243(G), which enables Panchayats to function as institutions of self-governance. It enables communities to engage with the local governance structures for allocation of resources aimed at enhancing both physical infrastructure and operational capacity of childcare provisions. 

This kind of intervention has demonstrated substantial benefits when governance and administrative structures work in partnership with community leaders in the interest of childcare. It is unfortunate that there has been hardly any evaluation for convergence models. 

Childcare solutions provided by the market have mostly remained inadequate. Childcare, being labour intensive, remains unaffordable for many families. To address the issue, partnership with civil society organisations, voucher support or tax incentives from governments can be considered. Some companies can pool in resources to run a common creche in the vicinity of their premises. 

Funds need to be allocated for substantive research on early childhood, including longitudinal studies tracking children from the earliest years to understand the impact of childcare services. Concurrent and operational research will promote indigenous knowledge and ensure a more evidence-based approach towards planning, implementing and monitoring  early childhood care and education programmes and interventions. 

The success of universal childcare lies in the concerted efforts of the state, communities and various organisations, working in tandem towards a common goal.

Chirashree Ghosh is executive director, operation and partnership, Mobile Creches. Sudeshna Sengupta is an independent researcher. 

Views expressed are the authors’ own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth