Research

The study’s main objective was to assess the nutritional status and understand the household food consumption pattern in the selected Anganwadis in Bengaluru Urban District. The study was conducted in Jigani and Anekal Taluks of Bengaluru Urban District. Five clusters, namely, Bukkasagara, Byatarayanadoddi, Thigaralabeedhi, Shanubhogana Halli, and Ayodhyanagar, were selected for the study. A total of 22 children (of 21 mothers) were selected randomly. The sample children carried out anthropometric measurements of height, weight, and MUAC.

Further, a qualitative method, viz., an in-depth interview, was conducted for mothers/caretakers (6 months to 6-year-old children) to develop insights about knowledge, practices, and attitudes regarding nutrition, feeding practices, and child development. The study was carried out a couple of months after the lockdown was lifted (Phase 1). This provided an opportunity to develop strategies to sustain the previous gains. Along with the anthropometric measurement of the children, data on feeding practices, immunization, childcare, and WASH practices was gathered and explored at a deeper level to understand the situation. Prof. Usha Manjunath, IIHMR, Bangalore, supported qualitative data analysis and report preparation. Dr. Deepashree M.R. and Dr. Mythri Shree supported in data collection.

Shri. B.D. Tatti School for deaf children is a residential school in Laxmeshwar in the Gadag district. The School was established in 1997 and has 300 students from 1 to 10th Standard. Under the Charitable Trust, much rehabilitation work has been going on. A preschool agenda for deaf children was initiated to achieve better scholastic performance.

Dr. Usha Manjunath is an independent consultant to assess the present status of the School, including Educational Programmes, School systems, and SWOT analysis. Based on the evaluation, strategic goals will be developed on Programmatic interventions for deaf education to enhance: academic achievements, empower deaf young people to achieve economic empowerment, communication, and integration into the community and Streamline and enhance Deaf Pre-School Program interventions with current professional knowledge on Communication development and holistic development of young children and Long term plans on vocational, job skills and economic empowerment of deaf children in the region with inclusive education and growth.

The study’s main objective was to prepare the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Government of Karnataka Programmes/schemes. It involved the collection of programme/schemes-related data for the preparation of ToR from the respective department. The ToRs developed became the basis for further evaluation of the programmes/schemes floated in the KEA. Following seven government schemes/programmes ToRs were written:

The Association of People with Disabilities (APD) implemented a project called Primary Education for Deaf Children in three selected districts of Karnataka state, namely Vijayapura (Bijapur), Davanagere, and Chikkabalapur with support from Deaf Child Worldwide (DCW) and with financial assistance from The Big Lottery Fund. The project aimed at providing elementary education to deaf children identified in 9 blocks of the above districts from June 2012 to May 2016, with an agreed extended period of 6 months, i.e., up to December 2016. An end-line project evaluation completed in December 2016 by two external evaluators, Dr. Usha Manjunath and Dr. Nagendra Prasad, provided several insights and policy directions for Deaf Children’s Primary Education. This project provided much-needed evidence-based information for community-based inclusive education for deaf children in rural and semi-urban areas. The end-line evaluation included mixed research methodologies, and 445 stakeholders were interviewed for data collection. About 350 to 360 stakeholders were met through focus group discussions (FGDs) & in-depth interviews (IDIs) to understand qualitative impact patterns from the project.

All the children in the project cycle (790) were admitted (newly), readmitted (who may have discontinued), or continuing education showed 100% admissions in regular schools at the local level (most of them in Government Schools). The overall retention rates of deaf children in schools are 96.41%, more than the retention rates of formal school-going children in the system. In the span of four and half years, almost all children enrolled in the project (790) showed significant improvements in communication (Total Communication including Indian Sign Language), access to services/government schemes for the deaf, educational/learning environment at home and school, social life and overall personality development. The stakeholders, including deaf children, their parents, school teachers, community members, Gram Panchayat/Zilla Parishad/Municipality/City Corporation officials, project staff/community level rehabilitation workers, and Government Officials of the Education Department gave an overwhelmingly positive response about the project impact in terms of relevance, viability, scale, and scope. Further, the APD concept of Model School is to build disable friendly & inclusive environment for Children with Disabilities (CwDs) in the age group of 6-16 years with 10 -12 children per model school in the inclusive school setup. This is done to enable them to access quality education & rehabilitation under the same roof and was found thriving in the districts of Vijayapura (Bijapur) and Davanagere.

The most substantial impact was seen (more than 80% of the deaf children enrolled) in the following areas: