Youth in India

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School lunch at Raika Primary School in Gujarat 47 Raika School - eating together (3384824242).jpg
School lunch at Raika Primary School in Gujarat

India is the most populated country in the world with nearly a fifth of the world's population. According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects [1] [2] the population stood at 1,407,563,842.

Contents

India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. In 2020, the average age of an Indian is 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan. By 2030, India's dependency ratio will be just over 0.4. [3] However, the number of children in India peaked more than a decade ago and is now falling. The number of children under the age of five peaked in 2007 and the number of Indians under 15 years old peaked in 2011. [4]

There are significant issues affecting young people around education in India. Other persistent problems include child labour in India, malnutrition in India, street children in India and child marriage in India, child trafficking in India.

Education

Indian Pre-Primary School children (Divine Orchids International Preschool, Jawhar) Indian Preschool.jpg
Indian Pre-Primary School children (Divine Orchids International Preschool, Jawhar)
Anganwadi centre at Velhe, Pune district, 2019 vaajeghr aNgnnvaaddii, velhe, punne.jpg
Anganwadi centre at Velhe, Pune district, 2019

As per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, 96.5% of all rural children between the ages of 6-14 were enrolled in school. This is the fourth annual survey to report enrollment above 96%. India has maintained an average enrolment ratio of 95% for students in this age group from year 2007 to 2014. As an outcome the number of students in the age group 6-14 who are not enrolled in school has come down to 2.8% in the year academic year 2018 (ASER 2018). [5] Another report from 2013 stated that there were 229 million students enrolled in different accredited urban and rural schools of India, from Class I to XII, representing an increase of 23 lakh students over 2002 total enrolment, and a 19% increase in girl's enrolment. [6] While quantitatively India is inching closer to universal education, the quality of its education has been questioned particularly in its government run school system. While more than 95 percent of children attend primary school, just 40 percent of Indian adolescents attend secondary school (Grades 9-12). Since 2000, the World Bank has committed over $2 billion to education in India. Some of the reasons for the poor quality include absence of around 25% of teachers every day. [7] States of India have introduced tests and education assessment system to identify and improve such schools. [8]

School children reading books in government primary school library, in Goa Government Primary School,Kharwada Amona Bicholim Goa.jpg
School children reading books in government primary school library, in Goa

The primary education in India is divided into two parts, namely Lower Primary (Class I-IV) and Upper Primary (Middle school, Class V-VIII). The Indian government lays emphasis on primary education ( Class I-VIII ) also referred to as elementary education, to children aged 6 to 14 years old. [9] Because education laws are given by the states, duration of primary school visit alters between the Indian states. The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. [9] However, both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions. [9] 80% of all recognised schools at the elementary stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the country. [10]

However, due to a shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil to teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. Figures released by the Indian government in 2011 show that there were 5,816,673 elementary school teachers in India. [11] As of March 2012 there were 2,127,000 secondary school teachers in India. [12] Education has also been made free [9] for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. [13]

The National Sample Survey Organisation and the National Family Health Survey collected data in India on the percentage of children completing primary school which are reported to be only 36.8% and 37.7% respectively. [14] On 21 February 2005, the Prime Minister of India said that he was pained to note that "only 47 out of 100 children enrolled in class I reach class VIII, putting the dropout rate at 52.78 percent." [15] It is estimated that at least 35 million, and possibly as many as 60 million, children aged 6–14 years are not in school. [16]

Nutrition

The World Bank estimates that India is one of the highest ranking countries in the world for the number of children suffering from malnutrition. The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world, and is nearly double that of Sub Saharan Africa with dire consequences for mobility, mortality, productivity and economic growth. [17]

On the Global Hunger Index India is on place 67 among the 80 nations having the worst hunger situation which is worse than nations such as North Korea or Sudan. 25% of all hungry people worldwide live in India. Since 1990 there has been some improvements for children but the proportion of hungry in the population has increased. In India 44% of children under the age of 5 are underweight. 72% of infants and 52% of married women have anaemia. Research has conclusively shown that malnutrition during pregnancy causes the child to have increased risk of future diseases, physical retardation, and reduced cognitive abilities. [18]

Socio-economic status

When it comes to child malnutrition, children in low-income families are more malnourished than those in high-income families. The public distribution system in India which account for distribution of wheat and rice only, by which the proteins are insufficient by these cereals which leads to malnutrition also. Some cultural beliefs that may lead to malnutrition is religion. Among these is the influence of religions, especially in India are restricted from consuming meat. Also, other Indians are strictly vegan, which means, they do not consume any sort of animal product, including dairy and eggs. This is a serious problem when inadequate protein is consumed because 56% of poor Indian household consume cereal to consume protein. It is observed that the type of protein that cereal contains does not parallel to the proteins that animal product contain (Gulati, 2012). [19] This phenomenon is most prevalent in the rural areas of India where more malnutrition exists on an absolute level. Whether children are of the appropriate weight and height is highly dependent on the socio-economic status of the population. [20] Children of families with lower socio-economic standing are faced with sub-optimal growth. While children in similar communities have shown to share similar levels of nutrition, child nutrition is also differential from family to family depending on the mother's characteristic, household ethnicity and place of residence. It is expected that with improvements in socio-economic welfare, child nutrition will also improve. [21]

The rates of malnutrition are exceptionally high among adolescent girls and pregnant and lactating women in India, with repercussions for children's health. [lower-alpha 1] [22]

Midday Meal Nutrition Scheme

The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the Government of India designed to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide, [23] by supplying free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternative innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour. [24] Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest such programme in the world. [25]

Youth unemployment

The youth unemployment rate was around 10% in 2005, but they have not reliably reported statistics to the United Nations over the years. [26] However, there has been an increase in young adults remaining in school and getting additional degrees simply because there are not opportunities for employment. These youth are typically of a lower class, but it can represent a wide variety of individuals across races and classes. In India, the employment system is often reliant on connections or government opportunities. [27]

Child labour

A young fruit seller in the streets of Kolkata Fruit seller in Kolkata.jpg
A young fruit seller in the streets of Kolkata

In 2011, the national census of India found that the total number of child labourers, aged [5–14], to be at 10.1 million, out of the total of 259.64 million children in that age group. [28] The child labour problem is not unique to India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many full-time. [29]

As per the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, amended in 2016 ("CLPR Act"), a "Child" is defined as any person below the age of 14, and the CLPR Act prohibits employment of a Child in any employment including as a domestic help. It is a cognizable criminal offence to employ a Child for any work. Children between age of 14 and 18 are defined as "Adolescent" and the law allows Adolescent to be employed except in the listed hazardous occupation and processes which include mining, inflammable substance and explosives related work and any other hazardous process as per the Factories Act, 1948. [30] In 2001, an estimated 1% of all child workers, or about 1,20,000 children in India were in a hazardous job. [31] Notably, the Constitution of India prohibits child labour in hazardous industries (but not in non-hazardous industries) as a Fundamental Right under Article 24. [32] UNICEF estimates that India with its larger population, has the highest number of labourers in the world under 14 years of age, while sub-Saharan African countries have the highest percentage of children who are deployed as child labourers. [33] [34] [35] The International Labour Organization estimates that agriculture, at 60 percent, is the largest employer of child labour in the world, [36] while the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates 70% of child labour is deployed in agriculture and related activities. [37] Outside of agriculture, child labour is observed in almost all informal sectors of the Indian economy. [38] [39] [40]

The presence of a large number of child labourers is regarded as a serious issue in terms of economic welfare. Children who work fail to get necessary education. They do not get the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and psychologically. [41] In terms of the physical condition of children, children are not ready for long monotonous work because they become exhausted more quickly than adults. This reduces their physical conditions and makes the children more vulnerable to disease. [42]

Street children

A street child in New Delhi. Boy in New Delhi - Kristian Bertel.jpg
A street child in New Delhi.

India has an estimated one hundred thousand or more street children in each of the following cities: New Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. [43] Mainly because of family conflict, they come to live on the streets and take on the full responsibilities of caring for themselves, including working to provide for and protecting themselves. Though street children do sometimes band together for greater security, they are often exploited by employers and the police. [44] [45]

Their many vulnerabilities require specific legislation and attention from the government and other organisations to improve their condition. [46]

Child marriage

Child Marriage India by SDRC ChildMarriageIndiabySDRC.jpg
Child Marriage India by SDRC

Child marriage in India, according to the Indian law, is a marriage where either the woman is below the age of 21 or the man is below the age of 21. Most child marriages involve underage women, many of whom are in poor socio-economic conditions.

Child marriages are prevalent in India. Estimates vary widely between sources as to the extent and scale of child marriages. The International Center for Research on Women-UNICEF publications have estimated India's child marriage rate to be 47% from a sample surveys of 1998, [47] while the United Nations reports it to be 30% in 2005. [48] The Census of India has counted and reported married women by age, with proportion of females in child marriage falling in each 10 year census period since 1981. In its 2001 census report, India stated zero married girls below the age of 10, 1.4 million married girls out of 59.2 million girls aged 10–14, and 11.3 million married girls out of 46.3 million girls aged 15–19. [49] Times of India reported that 'since 2001, child marriage rates in India have fallen by 46% between 2005 and 2009. [50] Jharkhand is the state with highest child marriage rates in India (14.1%), while Kerala is the only state where child marriage rates have increased in recent years. [50] [51] Jammu and Kashmir was reported to be the only state with lowest child marriage cases at 0.4% in 2009. [50] Rural rates of child marriages were three times higher than urban India rates in 2009. [50]

Child marriage was outlawed in 1929, under Indian law. However, in the British colonial times, the legal minimum age of marriage was set at 14 for girls and 18 for boys. Under protests from Muslim organizations in the undivided British India, a personal law Shariat Act was passed in 1937 that allowed child marriages with consent from girl's guardian. [52] After independence and adoption of Indian constitution in 1950, the child marriage act has undergone several revisions. The minimum legal age for marriage, since 1978, has been 18 for women and 21 for men. The child marriage prevention laws have been challenged in Indian courts, [52] with some Muslim Indian organizations seeking no minimum age and that the age matter be left to their personal law. [53] [54] Child marriage is an active political subject as well as a subject of continuing cases under review in the highest courts of India. [53]

Several states of India have introduced incentives to delay marriages. For example, the state of Haryana introduced the so-called Apni Beti, Apna Dhan program in 1994, which translates to "My daughter, My wealth". It is a conditional cash transfer program dedicated to delaying young marriages by providing a government paid bond in her name, payable to her parents, in the amount of 25,000 (US$300), after her 18th birthday if she is not married. [55]

Child marriage has been traditionally prevalent in India but is not so continued in Modern India to this day. Historically, child brides would live with their parents until they reached puberty. In the past, child widows were condemned to a life of great agony, shaved heads, living in isolation, and being shunned by society. [56] Although child marriage was outlawed in 1860, it is still a common practice. [57] The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 is the relevant legislation in the country.

According to UNICEF's "State of the World’s Children-2009" report, 47% of India's women aged 20–24 were married before the legal age of 18, rising to 56% in rural areas. [58] The report also showed that 40% of the world's child marriages occur in India. [59]

Sexual abuse

Laws

Child sexual abuse laws in India have been enacted as part of the child protection policies of India. The Parliament of India passed the 'Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill, 2011' regarding child sexual abuse on 22 May 2012 into an Act. [60] [61] [62] The rules formulated by the government in accordance with the law have also been notified on the November 2012 and the law has become ready for implementation. [63] There have been many calls for more stringent laws. [64] [65]

Child trafficking

India has one of the largest population of children in the world - Census data from 2011 shows that India has a population of 472 million children below the age of eighteen. [66] [67] Protection of children by the state is guaranteed to Indian citizens by an expansive reading of Article 21 [68] of the Indian constitution, and also mandated given India's status as signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

India has a very high volume of child trafficking. As many as one child disappears every eight minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. [69] In some cases, children are taken from their homes to be bought and sold in the market. In other cases, children are tricked into the hands of traffickers by being presented an opportunity for a job, when in reality, upon arrival they become enslaved. In India, there are many children trafficked for various reasons such as labor, begging, and sexual exploitation. Because of the nature of this crime; it is hard to track; and due to the poor enforcement of laws, it is difficult to prevent. [70] Due to the nature of this crime, it is only possible to have estimates of figures regarding the issue. India is a prime area for child trafficking to occur, as many of those trafficked are from, travel through or destined to go to India. Though most of the trafficking occurs within the country, there is also a significant number of children trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. [71] There are many different causes that lead to child trafficking, with the primary reasons being poverty, weak law enforcement, and a lack of good quality public education. The traffickers that take advantage of children can be from another area in India, or could even know the child personally. Children who return home after being trafficked often face shame in their communities, rather than being welcomed home. [72]

See also

Notes

  1. "Reports of National Health & Family Survey, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, and WHO have highlighted that rates of malnutrition among adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and children are alarmingly high in India. Factors responsible for malnutrition in the country include mother’s nutritional status, lactation behaviour, women’s education, and sanitation. These affect children in several ways including stunting, childhood illness, and retarded growth." [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour</span> Exploitation of children through work

Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation worldwide, although these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties, supervised training, and some forms of work undertaken by Amish children, as well as by Indigenous children in the Americas.

Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of child in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "every human being below the age of 18 years". Child sex tourism results in both mental and physical consequences for the exploited children, which may include sexually transmitted infections, "drug addiction, pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and death", according to the State Department of the United States. Child sex tourism, part of the multibillion-dollar global sex tourism industry, is a form of child prostitution within the wider issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Child sex tourism victimizes approximately 2 million children around the world. The children who perform as prostitutes in the child sex tourism trade often have been lured or abducted into sexual slavery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malnutrition</span> Medical condition

Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues and form. Malnutrition is not receiving the correct amount of nutrition.

Child marriage is a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, between a child and an adult, or between a child and another child.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child prostitution</span> Prostitution involving a child

Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child prostitution is illegal as part of general prohibition on prostitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in India</span> Overview of the status of women in India

The status of women in India has been subject to many changes over the time of recorded India's history. Their position in society deteriorated early in India's ancient period, especially in the Indo-Aryan speaking regions, and their subordination continued to be reified well into India's early modern period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial sexual exploitation of children</span> Commercial transaction that involves the sexual exploitation of a child

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) defines the “umbrella” of crimes and activities that involve inflicting sexual abuse on to a child as a financial or personal opportunity. Commercial Sexual Exploitation consists of forcing a child into prostitution, sex trafficking, early marriage, child sex tourism and any other venture of exploiting children into sexual activities. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the lack of reporting the crime and “the difficulties associated with identifying and measuring victims and perpetrators” has made it almost impossible to create a national estimate of the prevalence of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the United States. There is an estimated one million children that are exploited for commercial sex globally; of the one million children that are exploited, the majority are girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trafficking of children</span> Form of human trafficking

Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and exploitation. This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for adoption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health in India</span> Overview of health in India

India's population in 2021 as per World Bank is 1.39 billion. Being the world's most populous country and one of its fastest-growing economies, India experiences both challenges and opportunities in context of public health. India is a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; world-class scientists, clinical trials and hospitals yet country faces daunting public health challenges like child undernutrition, high rates of neonatal and maternal mortality, growth in noncommunicable diseases, high rates of road traffic accidents and other health related issues.

Gender inequality in India refers to health, education, economic and political inequalities between men and women in India. Various international gender inequality indices rank India differently on each of these factors, as well as on a composite basis, and these indices are controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Mali</span> Overview of the status of women in Mali

The status and social roles of women in Mali have been formed by the complex interplay of a variety of traditions in ethnic communities, the rise and fall of the great Sahelien states, French colonial rule, independence, urbanisation, and postcolonial conflict and progress. Forming just less than half Mali's population, Malian women have sometimes been the center of matrilineal societies, but have always been crucial to the economic and social structure of this largely rural, agricultural society.

Despite India's 50% increase in GDP since 2013, more than one third of the world's malnourished children live in India. Among these, half of the children under three years old are underweight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour in Bangladesh</span> Overview of child labour in Bangladesh

Child labour in Bangladesh is significant, with 4.7 million children aged 5 to 14 in the work force in 2002-03. Out of the child labourers engaged in the work force, 83% are employed in rural areas and 17% are employed in urban areas. Child labour can be found in agriculture, poultry breeding, fish processing, the garment sector and the leather industry, as well as in shoe production. Children are involved in jute processing, the production of candles, soap and furniture. They work in the salt industry, the production of asbestos, bitumen, tiles and ship breaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour in India</span> Child labour

A significant proportion of children in India are engaged in child labour. In 2011, the national census of India found that the total number of child labourers, aged [5–14], to be at 10.12 million, out of the total of 259.64 million children in that age group. The child labour problem is not unique to India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many full-time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child trafficking in India</span>

India has a very high volume of child trafficking. As many as one child disappears every eight minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. In some cases, children are taken from their homes to be bought and sold in the market. In other cases, children are tricked into the hands of traffickers by being presented an opportunity for a job, when in reality, upon arrival they become enslaved. In India, there are many children trafficked for various reasons such as labor, begging, and sexual exploitation. Because of the nature of this crime, it is hard to track; due to the poor enforcement of laws, it is difficult to prevent. As such, there are only vague estimates of figures regarding the issue. India is a prime area for child trafficking to occur, as many of those trafficked are from, travel through or destined to go to India. Though most of the trafficking occurs within the country, there is also a significant number of children trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. There are many different causes that lead to child trafficking, with the primary reasons being poverty, weak law enforcement, and a lack of good quality public education. The traffickers that take advantage of children can be from another area in India, or could even know the child personally. Children who return home after being trafficked often face shame in their communities, rather than being welcomed home.

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is a government program in India which provides nutritional meals, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers. The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child marriage in India</span> Child marriages in India

Child marriage in India, according to the Indian law, is a marriage where the woman and man both are younger than 21 years of age respectively. Most child marriages involve women, many of whom are poor socio-economic conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth in Bangladesh</span>

There are over 57 million children in Bangladesh. Although Bangladesh has an increasingly stable and growing economy, half of these children continue to live below the international poverty line. Protection, health, education, nutrition, safe water and hygiene are considered basic rights for all children, yet children in Bangladesh face issues on all these fronts. 26 million children live below the national poverty line. Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child-marriage in the world. 66% of women were married before they turned 18. 13% of children are involved in child labor. Child laborers are frequently denied an education and are vulnerable to violence and abuse. Less than 80% of students enrolled in grade one complete primary school. High drop-out rates and poor quality teaching and learning are serious problems for primary schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Namibia</span>

Human rights in Namibia are currently recognised and protected by the Namibian constitution formed in 1990 by a 72-seat assembly. The assembly consisted of differing political parties. After a draft, the constitution was agreed upon by all members of the seven political parties involved. 21 March 1990 marks the first day Namibia operated under the Constitution and also marks the recognition of Namibia as an independent nation. Chapter 3 of the constitution entitled Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, also referred to as the Bill of Rights, outlines the human rights of all Namibian citizens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth in Pakistan</span>

Pakistan's estimated population was 207,774,520 according to the provisional results of the 2017 Census of Pakistan. Pakistan is the world's fifth-most-populous country.

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