Hyderabad: Access to free primary education and primary health care in the slums of old city in Hyderabad has changed the living standards of the poor, according to a pre-Ramzan survey. Ramzan, the Muslim month of fasting, will begin on March 2 in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as the crescent was not sighted on Friday.
About 70% of dropouts among primary schoolchildren were reversed, 50% of families saved up to Rs 5,000 a month, 70% of families reduced borrowing on high interest rates, while 68% reported income stability. The annual pre-Ramzan survey was conducted by non-governmental organisation Helping Hand Foundation (HHF).
The NGO carried out a first of its kind impact survey of how free primary health care and free primary education, which are key social determinants of poverty, had a positive impact on poor families living in Errakunta, Shaheenagar, Pahadishariff, Jalpally and Balapur areas of the old Hyderabad. As part of the survey, the educational and economic standards of 500 students and their families living in slums were studied.
According to the survey, 30% of the poor families had enrolled one child and 70% more than one child in the school with free education. This led to a saving of Rs 5000 a month for 60% of the families. This amount they would have otherwise spent on school fee, books, transport etc. Free primary education also helped in a school drop-out reversal of up to 70%. It also showed that 80% of the parents, who admitted their children in free primary schools, utilized free comprehensive primary health care services too.
Helping Hand Foundation founder and trustee Mujtaba Hasan Askari said while free education and health care helped 50 per cent of the poor families to save between Rs 1000 and Rs 2000 per month, 20 per cent families saved Rs 3000 and more. “Apart from saving on education, access to good quality primary health care resulted in early detection and prevention of diseases and financial shocks that potentially put families into distress and poverty,” he said. In all, 50% of families surveyed had saved Rs 5000 a month, and 30% saved Rs 10,000 a month.
According to the survey the money thus saved was spent on food, rent and utilities by 70 per cent of the families living in the slums, while 20 per cent of the families used the saved amount to repay debts. About 10 per cent of the families focussed on nutrition of their children and new clothes.
Askari said 68% of families surveyed said their income stabilized as education and healthcare came free.
