Quality of Population - Concepts - Chapter 2 Class 9 Economics - People as Resource - Economics

• The quality of the population depends on:
• The literacy rate
• the health of a person is indicated by life expectancy
• skill formation acquired by the people of the country
• The quality of the population ultimately decides the growth rate of the country .
• A literate and healthy population is an asset .

Education

• Education was an important part of the growth of Sakal. It opened a new horizon for him, provided new aspirations and developed values of life.
• Not only for Sakal, but education contributes towards the growth of society too. 
• It improves the national income , and cultural richness and improves the efficiency of governance .
• There is a provision made for providing universal access, retention and quality in elementary education with a special focus on girls .
• There is also an establishment of schools like Navodaya Vidyalaya in each district. 
• Vocational streams have been developed to equip a large number of high school students with occupations related to knowledge and skills.
• The plan outlay on education has increased from Rs 151 crore in the first plan to Rs 99,300 crore in 2020–21.
• The expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP rose from 0.64% in 1951–52 to 3.1% in 2019–20 and has remained stagnant at around 3% in the past few years.
• The Budgetary Estimate as stated in the Budget Documents of Union State Governments , Reserve Bank of India , the expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP has declined to 2.8% in 2020–21 .
• The literacy rates have increased from 18% in 1951 to 85% in 2018 .
• Literacy is not only a right , it is also needed if the citizens are to perform their duties and enjoy their rights properly . However, a vast difference is noticed across different sections of the population.
• Literacy among males is nearly 16.1% higher than among females and it is about 14.2% higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas .
• As per the 2011 census , literacy rates varied from 94% in Kerala to 62% in Bihar . The primary school system (I–V) has expanded to over 7,78,842, lakh in 2019–20.
• This huge expansion of schools has been diluted by the poor quality of schooling and high dropout rates.
• Through Sarva Siksha Abhiyan all children in the age group of 6–14 years were aimed towards providing elementary education by 2010 .
• This initiative of the Central government was in partnership with the States , the local government and the community for achieving the goal of universalisation of elementary education.
• Bridge courses and back-to-school camps have been initiated to increase enrolment in elementary education .
• The Mid-day meal scheme has been implemented to encourage attendance and retention of children and improve their nutritional status.
• These policies could increase the literate population of India.

• The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education in the age group of 18 to 23 years is 27% in 2019–20 , which would be broadly in line with the world average.
• The strategy focuses on increasing access , quality , adoption of state-specific curriculum modification , vocationalisation and networking on the use of information technology .
• There is also a focus on distance education , a convergence of formal , non-formal , distance and IT education institutions .

Over the past 60 years , there has been significant growth in the number of universities and institutions of higher learning in specialised areas.

Health

• The health of a person helps him/her to realise his/her potential and the ability to fight illness.
• An unhealthy person will not be able to maximise output for the overall growth of the organisation .
• Health is essential for realising one’s well-being.
• Improvement in the health status of the population should be the priority of the country.
• Our national policy aims at improving the accessibility of healthcare , family welfare and nutritional service with a special focus on the underprivileged segment of the population .
• Over the last five decades, India has built a vast health infrastructure and has also developed the manpower required in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in government, as well as, in the private sector .
• These measures have increased life expectancy to over 69.4 years in 2016 .
• The infant mortality rate (IMR) has come down from 147 to 36 from 1951 to 2020.
• Crude birth rates have dropped to 20.0 (2018) and death rates to 6.2 (2018) within the same duration of time.
• An increase in life expectancy and improvement in childcare are useful for the future progress of the country.
• An increase in the longevity of life is an indicator of good quality of life marked by self-confidence.
• Reduction in infant mortality involves the protection of children from infection , ensuring the nutrition of both the mother and the child .

• There are many places in India which do not have even these basic facilities .
• There are only 542 medical colleges in the country and 313 dental colleges . Just four states , Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , Maharastra and Tamil Nadu have the maximum number of medical colleges.