POPULATION
EDUCATION
The term “Population Education” provides
a tendency to misinterpret it as the education of population, but the actual
meaning of the term is different. If we go deep into the matter, we will find
that population education is education about population matter, such as fertility,
mortality, migration etc. It is an educational process which helps people to
understand the nature, the causes, and consequences of population events.
“Population education is an
educational programme which provides for a study of population situation of the
family, the community, nation and world, with the purpose of developing in the
students rational and responsible attitudes and behaviour towards that
situation.”- UNESCO
It is a factual knowledge about
population dynamic. Population education is an educational process, which helps
individual to learn about population and particularly the effect of population
dynamic and the related problem on the individuals, family, community, nation,
and the world. Its main purpose is to create awareness, to provide knowledge
and to develop positive attitude for improving population situation to ensure a
better life now and in future.
POPULATION
EXPLOSION AND ADVERSE EFFECTS
In simple terms population
explosion refers to a sudden, large increase in the size of a population. A
population explosion is a sudden increase in the number of individuals in a
particular species. The term is typically used in reference to the world's
human population, especially the population boom that followed the end of World
War II due to a combination of an accelerated birth rate, decrease in infant
mortality, and an increased life expectancy.
The
explosion of a species population can throw an ecosystem out of equilibrium. In
the case of the human population, explosive growth can have far-reaching
environmental and economic impacts. Human population explosions are sometimes
cited as a cause of resource scarcity and a lack of opportunity for
individuals.
Effects
The
effect of population explosion is multi-layered. It not only impacts the
environment and the availability of resources, but it also impacts the health
of individuals within the population.
Natural
resources are depleting constantly with the increasing demand and consumption.
Fossil fuel which is the primary source of energy that drives the
technology-driven world is fast depleting. Which poses a very important
question on what we depend on once this natural resource has exhausted.
Although there is growing awareness on the use of renewable energy like
biofuels, solar, wind and tidal energy and others there is still a long way to
go where these renewable resources can replace the use of fossil fuels.
With
the increasing population and the rising demand, there is an increased level in
the air, water, and soil pollution. This is not only impacting the lives of
humans but has also affected the lives of many animals resulting in the
endangering of many species and the extinction of many. The high levels of
pollution have resulted in contamination of water and soil that has rendered
many patches of land and water bodies unfit for use. Drinking water is fast
becoming inadequate to support the needs of millions of people. With the
increase in the demand for crops to meet the global food requirements, there
has been an increase in deforestation to provide for agricultural land.
This
has led to a significant contraction in the biodiversity of many regions.
Deforestation, on the other hand, has serious repercussions on the climatic
condition of the planet. It leads to an increased level of carbon dioxide which
is one of the contributing factors to global warming.
Apart from the environmental effects there
is a huge socio-economic impact as the country’s resources become inadequate to
support the needs of a growing population. Countries with high population have
high unemployment percentages as well which means that a greater number of
people live in poverty, incapable to support the needs for sanitation and
health care. It not only means malnutrition, but it also leads to increased
incidences of epidemics and pandemics. Living conditions become increasingly
compact and crowded which is detrimental to a thriving society and good mental
health. It breeds crime and antagonism and higher mortality rates.
Overpopulation impacts the entire biosphere as it impacts the environment in
multiple levels.
NEED
FOR POPULATION EDUCATION
Population explosion affects
every aspect of man’s life- individual, national, and international. It affects
health, wealth, and happiness of individual and families.
In order to minimize the problems
like food problem, economic problem, younger generation problem, environmental
problem and educational problem, there is an urgent need of population
education at all levels. Thus, the idea of population education is based on the
following assumptions:
·
Rapid growth of population is a
constant threat to our economic development.
·
Over-population affects the health
and well-being of the younger generation.
·
Population explosion creates an
obstacle for raising the standard of living of the masses.
·
Population education is not to be
mixed with sex education or the methods of family planning. Rather it should be
a motivational force for creating the right attitude to family size.
·
Population education is not a “once
for all affairs”, rather, it should be continuous process.
Hence, population education needs
to be given top priority in the present scenario. The younger generation needs
to be informed about India’s populations problems. They need to be properly
educated with new ideas for leading a better adult life.
The present situation needs
population education because it is a new content area and is highly relevant to
the lives of the people. It also encourages improvements in methods of
teaching, in the structure of the system of education, in the value of the
students and the teachers and in so many other areas.
TRENDS
IN DEMOGRAPHY
Demography is the study of
statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which
illustrate the changing structure of human populations.
Demographic trend is a popular term for any
measurable change in the characteristics of a population over time. E.g., increased,
or decreased concentration of a particular ethnic group, sex ratio, etc.
The various aspects of
demographic trends in India are:
·
Size of population
·
Rate of growth
·
Birth and death rates
·
Density of population
·
Sex-ratio
·
Life-expectancy at birth
·
Literacy ratio
a)
Size of Population
Over a period of 100 years,
India has quadrupled its population size. In terms of, size of population,
India ranks second in the world after China. India has only about 2.4% of the
world’s geographical area and contributes less than 1.2% of the world’s income
but accommodates about 17.5% of the world’s population. In other words, every sixth
person in the world is an Indian. In fact, the combined population of just two
states namely, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are more than the population of
United States of America, the third most populous country of the world. Some of
the states in India have larger population than many countries in the world.
b)
Birth rate and death rate
Crude Birth rate refers to the number of births per thousand of
population. Birth rate was 39.9 in 1951; it fell to 21.8 in 2011. Although the
birth rate has declined, the decline is not so remarkable. The death rate has
declined from 27.4 in 1951 to 7.1 in 2011. However, from the data it is clear
that the fall in birth rates is less than that of death rates.
Kerala has the lowest birth
rate (14.7) and Uttar Pradesh has the highest birth rate (29. 5). West Bengal
has the lowest death rate (6.3) and Orissa (9.2) has the highest. Among States
Bihar has the highest decadal (2001- 11) growth rate of population, while
Kerala has the lowest growth rate.
c)
Density of population
It refers to the average number of persons residing per square kilometer.
It represents the man - land ratio. As the total land area remains the same, an
increase in population causes density of population to rise.
Density of
population = Total population / Land area of the region.
Just before Independence, the
density of population was less than 100. But after independence, it has
increased rapidly from 117 in 1951 to 325 in 2001. According to 2011 census,
the present Density of population is 382. Thus, the pressure of population on
land has been rising. Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh have
density higher than the India’s average density. Bihar is the most densely
populated state in the country with 1,102 persons living per sq.km followed by
West Bengal with 880. Arunachal Pradesh has low density of population of only
17 persons.
d)
Sex ratio
It refers to the number of females per 1,000 males. It is an important indicator
to measure the extent of prevailing equity between males and females at a given
point of time.
In India, the sex ratio is more
favourable to males than to females. In Kerala, the adult sex ratio is 1084 as
in 2011. The recent census (2011) shows that there has been a marginal increase
in sex ratio. Haryana has the lowest sex ratio of 877 (2011) among other
states, while Kerala provides better status to women as compared to other
States with 1084 females per 1000 males.
e)
Life expectancy at birth
It refers to the mean
expectation of life at birth. Life expectancy has improved over the years. Life
expectancy is low when death rate is high and / or instances of early death are
high. On the other hand, life expectancy is high when death rate is low and /
or instances of early death are low.
During 1901 – 11, life expectancy
was just 23 years. It increased to 63.5 years in 2011. A considerable fall in
death rate is responsible for improvement in the life expectancy at birth. However,
the life expectancy in India is very low compared to that of developed
countries.
f)
Literacy ratio
It refers to the number of literates as a percentage of the total
population. In 1951, only one-fourth of the males and one-twelfth of the
females were literates. Thus, on an average, only one-sixth of the people of
the country were literates. In 2011, 82% of males and 65.5% of females were
literates giving an overall literacy rate of 74.04% (2011). When compared to
other developed countries and even Sri Lanka this rate is very low. Kerala has
the highest literacy ratio (92%) followed by Goa (82%), Himachal Pradesh (76%),
Maharashtra (75%) and Tamil Nadu (74%) . Bihar has the lowest literacy ratio
(53%) in 2011.
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