TABLE 9: TOTAL NUMBER OF CRECHES UNDER THE RGNCS

42 THE RIGHT START INVESTING IN EARLY YEARS OF EDUCATION

The scheme falls under MWCD, GoI and the implementation was carried out by three main agencies - the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB), Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) and Bharatiya Adim Jati Sevak Sangh (BAJSS), in partnership with other civil society organizations as well as private agencies. As of 2008 however, all crèches under BAJSS were transferred to CSWB due to complaints of irregularities in the management, several of which were unable to function. Many crèches were also shut down by the implementing agencies due to non-performance (MWCD, Press Information Bureau, 2013). Moreover, no new crèches were sanctioned in the period between 2010 and 2013 (MWCD, 2013). These have resulted in a decrease in the total number of crèches, as can be seen from Table 9.

TABLE 9: Total number of crèches under the RGNCS

Year 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2014- 2015 2015-2016 Total number of functional crèches 26785 22599 23785 23785 23293* 21363*

Source: MWCD, Press Information Bureau, 2013

The first year of the implementation of the revised scheme is directed towards undertaking intensive inspections of existing crèches to weed out non-performing centres, and also to upgrade the infrastructural facilities of other crèches so as to meet the requirements of the scheme (Revised RGNCS, 2016). The implementing agencies will continue to be CSWB and ICCW, through NGOs, with a cost-sharing pattern of 90: 10 between the central government and the implementing NGO. The funds are released directly from the GoI to the implementing agency, instead of releasing the funds through the state government.

The targeted number of beneficiaries for this scheme has been 6,43,000 since 2014, but a population of approximately 5,82,000 benefitted in 2014-15, which further reduced to 534,000 in 2015-16 (Parliament of India, 2016).

III. Pre-primary schools attached to schools

In addition to providing PSE through AWCs, the government also provides it through a limited number of pre-primary sections attached to government primary schools. According to DISE 201314 data, around 15.5 percent of government schools in India have an attached pre-primary section, catering to 3.02 million students (CSF, 2016). 65% percent of these schools do not have a teacher for the pre-primary section and the primary school teachers are probably responsible for these children as well (CSF, 2016). An analysis by CSF (2016) shows that in 12 states, over 50 percent of government schools have an attached pre-primary section, while in 18 states, less than five percent do. Two states, West Bengal and Assam, in particular have a disproportionately higher number of primary schools with pre-schools attached and contribute to 66.6% of all pre-primary sections in primary schools in the country.

Nationally, the enrolment in government pre-primary sections is just over 30 lakhs, while it is 85 lakhs in private pre-primary sections.

B. Private Sector Services

After the ICDS, the private sector is the second largest provider of ECCE services. Aside from high end/costing private pre-schools, playschools, nurseries, preparatory schools and kindergartens that mostly cater to children from well-off families, there has also been a rapid expansion of lowbudget, private pre-schools, not only in the urban but even in the rural and tribal areas. Often such