Rock-a-bye-baby: City’s only public day care centre stuck in limbo

Last week, parents were told the centre is going to be shut down

KARACHI:

For people with children who work during the day to make ends meet, day care centres come as a blessing. With private centres charging exorbitant amounts for taking care of such children, the only government-owned day care centre in the city was a source of relief for parents.

On a pleasant afternoon, toddlers napped peacefully, with toys lying close to them. Inside the government's only day care centre, it was warm and cosy. Sadly, the fate of this centre, which belongs to the women development department and has been convenient for parents, hangs in the balance as authorities are planning to shut it down.



Last week, parents of children enrolled at the centre received an unexpected call from officials who told them was going to be closed. "I was shocked," said a parent, Rehan Ali, who has two children enrolled at the centre. "They said that it was going to be closed from Monday (today)."

When parents raised a hue and cry, officials said the centre, situated in the premises of the Directorate of Women Development, PECHS, was going to continue for the time being and then be shifted elsewhere. Since then, there has been silence on the matter. Ali, his wife, and other parents are doubtful about the government's intention. "They can shut it down any time," he said.

One of its kind

Established in 2009, the day care centre situated in an unmaintained building was one of the three that the women development department had planned. One was never established, while the other one was established in collaboration with Karachi University (KU) inside the varsity's premises. According to an official of the directorate, this centre has been non-functional but KU administration claims that it has been functioning.

An official of the Directorate of Women Development, Tariq Waheed Baloch, said there had been news about the directorate being shifted to Hyderabad, which is why this day care centre and other programmes were being wrapped up. But Baloch was more concerned about the security of the centre. According to him, the day care project had ended in June, 2015, and, since then, has been running on its own. "The high-ups have said that the project will carry on, but they should give it in writing," he said. "The project has expired and if there is a terrorist attack, my neck will be on the line [as the government will not take responsibility]."  Currently, the women development department is without a minister and lies with the Sindh chief minister. Former women development minister Rubina Qaimkhani claimed that the chief minister has stopped the centre from being closed down. "It should continue," she said. "It was one of our best projects."

Functioning and services

For the last eight months, the day care centre has been running on its own, with the exception of the rent of the premises being paid by the directorate. Five to six employees have been working there without getting paid by the government. Parents pool in for their salaries.

For parents, the centre comes as a blessing. It is affordable and trustworthy. Thirty children are enrolled presently enrolled there.

Working at Liaquat National Hospital, a man who had come to take his daughter home, said the prices [at the centre] are quite low. The charges for a child above two years is Rs3,000 per month, and for children aged less than a year, they are Rs3,500, which includes the costs of meals and diapers. Ali pointed out that at other private day care centres, charges start from Rs15,000 to Rs17,000 and are exclusive of diapers and food. "My experience has been fabulous," he said. "I have received handwritten and detailed everyday reports from what my children did the whole day and what they ate to the colour of the stool they passed."

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd,  2016.