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

Last updated at April 16, 2024 by

Quality of population - Teachoo.png

  • 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

Trends in Literacy Rates In Post-Independent India - Teachoo.png

  • 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.

Number of Institutions of Higher Education, Enrolment and Faculty - Teachoo.png

  • 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

Children standing in queue for health check-up -Teachoo.png

  • 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 .

Health infrastructure over the years - teachoo.png

  • 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.

 

 

Go Ad-free
Davneet Singh's photo - Co-founder, Teachoo

Made by

Davneet Singh

Davneet Singh has done his B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He has been teaching from the past 14 years. He provides courses for Maths, Science, Social Science, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science at Teachoo.