Indian pre-school teachers make a difference in poor communities
Indian pre-school workers don't just teach; they also do community tasks
Sitwander Kaur is not your average pre-school teacher. She might spend most of the day at the blackboard, but for the past decade her job in a sleepy village in the north Indian state of Punjab has also included cooking meals for children and registering voters during elections.
Like many of the estimated 2.8 million other pre school (anganwadi) workers across India, Kaur is seen as one of the country's most faithful and committed public servants.
This all-women workforce, branded as "honorary workers" by the government, runs the 1.4 million pre-school centres as part of India's integrated child development scheme, which began in 1975.
But over time their jobs have evolved, and now as well as teaching they administer life-saving polio vaccines, document voter IDs and even distribute a pre-mixed feed to pregnant women to prevent maternal death and malnutrition.
As well as helping raise rural India's health and education standards, advocates say their presence has strengthened the voice of women, giving them greater visibility in a society that is invariably dominated by men.
"Pre-school workers are the most effective grassroots workforce that the government has," said Mathangi Subramaniam, who researched the impact of the programme through a Fulbright grant. "They are recognised in their communities and aren't afraid to speak out."