AIOU Solved Assignments Course Code-6573 Assignment No.2 Autumn 2020

 

Course code-6573

ASSIGNMENT No. 2

Q.1 Discuss the different elements of population policies in Pakistan.

Formulation of an ideal population policy is a multi-stage exercise. It begins with an assessment of the past and present demographic trends and their determinants in a country. This is followed by an appraisal of the future demographic change, if the present trends continue, and its social and economic consequences. And, finally, appropriate measures are designed to regulate the future demographic change in the desired direction. As noted earlier, demographic trends in a society is the net result of the interplay between the three components of population change.

Policy makers are, therefore, concerned with factors affecting these components, both at the aggregate level and among different socio-economic segments in order to device ways and means of regulating the direction and amount of change in each of the three components. However, most of the population policies, as is commonly noticed, are directed at influencing fertility, although trends and effects of migration and mortality also form important parts of a population policy.

1. Migration:

Migration is generally studied with reference to its two types – international and internal. In so far as international migration is concerned, most of the countries today have now well-defined policies placing restrictions on mobility across their boundaries. The immigration laws of countries like Australia, Britain and the US, which witnessed significant inflow of people in the past, have of late placed increased restrictions in the form of quota and limits on the number and source of immigration. According to the prevailing laws, immigration of those who are considered undesirable for certain political, social or medical reasons are banned in these countries.

In Great Britain, there was no restriction on immigration from the commonwealth countries up to the early 1960s. The Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962 required an official employment voucher as a pre-condition for settling down in the country. Further, in 1965, an upper limit of the number of such employment vouchers for prospective immigrants from the commonwealth countries was fixed. Later, in 1973, immigrants from non-commonwealth countries were also brought under the same quota primarily in order to restrict immigration from the former colonies. Finally, in 1983, the Nationality Act made immigration from its former colonies further restricted.

Australia provides another example where immigration laws form an important part of population policy. In Australia throughout much of the past immigration from Europe was unabated, while immigration from Asian countries remained banned. Although, from 1957, restrictions on immigration from Asia were lifted, unlike their European counterparts, immigrants from Asia were not entitled for any financial assistance for their passage to Australia despite the fact that the country is sparsely populated and needs labour force.

The revised immigration policy in 1978 made permanent settlement obligatory for migration in the country. The policy prescribes a weighting procedure for the applicants to select the right kind of migrants. The idea was that immigrants should form an asset rather than a burden for the economy of the country. In 1982, the Government of Australia reduced its target intake of immigrants due to rising incidence of unemployment in the country (Bhende and Kanitkar, 2000:452).

Similarly, a number of countries impose restrictions on emigration of skilled and professionals in order to curb, ‘brain drain’ from their country. Countries like Egypt, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have devised mechanism that discourages emigration of trained professionals.

In so far as internal migration is concerned, most of the countries offer liberty to their citizens to move freely within their boundaries on their choice. In the event of a restricted interna­tional migration, as it exists today, internal migration is the only recourse to the problem of population-resource imbalance in the least developed countries of the world. Much of such internal migrations in the world is unplanned and unguided. The most important such migration is the one that takes place between the rural and urban centres, particularly among the less developed countries. The problems of congestion and slums have become integral feature of the urban landscape in such countries.

Efforts to tackle these problems can be seen in the form of measures related to city planning, urban renewal, relocation of industry and in the form of various aids to agricultural sector. In such countries, the efficacy of development programmes depends, in part, on the success with which they are able to regulate internal migration. Instances of some successful internal migration affecting policies can be seen in Indonesia and Malaysia. Elsewhere, including India, measures aimed at regulating internal migration form part of the overall public policies of development strategies.

The indirect measures regulating internal migration are various tax incentives and disincentives in the location of industries, subsidies to indus­tries located in certain areas, investments in public services and utilities, decentralization of government services, location of administrative headquarters in certain locations etc. Problems, however, arise when such measures come in conflict with the economic goals of a country. More often than not, under economic compulsion, economic goals take precedence over measures aimed at regulating internal migration.

2. Mortality:

Ever since his emergence on the earth, man has been relentlessly making efforts to improve mortality conditions and to enhance his longevity. It is logical, therefore, that policies aimed at reducing the incidence of death have been an essential feature of human societies throughout its history. Broadly defined, policies pertaining to mortality do not merely aim at reduction in mortality rates, but also include measures for improvement in the health conditions of people. In the industrialized countries of the West, death rates have already reached the lowest possible level, and any further decline in it is very difficult to attain.

In such countries, therefore, population policies, as such, do not place much of emphasis on reduction in mortality rates. Rather, other aspects of welfare policies such as health insurance scheme get precedence over mortality reduction. In some of the less developed countries, on the other hand, where mortality rates continue to be very high, control over morbidity and mortality has been accorded a very high priority in the overall population policies, even though it means further rise in the rate of growth in population.

The concept of public policy as recommended by the WHO which reads as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of diseases or infirmity”, now forms part of the national policy in all the countries of the world. The death rates in many of the less developed countries have undergone significant decline during the recent times in the wake of the spread of heath care measures. International organizations like WHO have played a major role in the eradication of some of the ‘killer’ diseases from these countries.

3. Fertility:

In so far as fertility as an element in population policy is concerned, two distinct approaches – pro-natalist and anti-natalist – can easily be distinguished. The low-fertility level countries, in general, adopt pro-natalist approach in order to stimulate growth in population. As against this, for the high-fertility countries, it becomes imperative to adopt anti-natalist approach in order to restrain growth in their populations.

As already noted, pro-natalist policy has been adopted throughout much of the past in order to cope with high death rates. Presently, most of the European countries, marked with a very slow growth, and even decline in their populations, provide examples of pro-natalist population policy. Prominent among them are Sweden, France, Romania and Hungary.

Sweden has a highly developed population policy that is geared around sustaining growth in population. Remarkably, however, the consideration of individual welfare and personal freedom has often taken precedence over the national expansionist policy in the event of any conflict between the two. On the basis of the recommendations of Population Commissions set up in 1935 and 1941, the Swedish government has made provisions for various welfare measures aimed at voluntary parenthood and child welfare.

In order to ensure voluntary parenthood, contraceptives are made available to the people, and laws against induced abortion have been relaxed. Sex education has been made a regular part of teaching in schools. Thus, the Swedish policy is truly a welfare policy designed to improve the quality of population rather than being an ‘expansionist’ in the true sense of the term.

France offers another example of pro-natalist policy in the modern times encouraging family formation and childbearing in order to overcome the problems of ageing and decline in population. Government actions in this regard include financial aid for marriage and childbearing, and at the same time measures restricting contraceptive and induced abortion. Although, distri­bution of contraceptives was later legalized in 1967, restrictions against advertisement of the same continued to exist.

Families get monthly allowance at an increasing rate depending upon the number of children under 15 years of age (in some special cases 20 years of age). Similarly, families having single bread earner are also entitled for a monthly allowance, the rate of which varies depending upon the number of children. In addition, in France, prenatal and maternity allowances are available to all women. Further, additional incentives are provided to married couples in the form of government loans for various purposes, tax reduction and certain rebates on the public services etc. Immigration of able-bodied persons has always been encouraged in France.

In Asia, Japan is perhaps the only country with a pro-natalist policy. Japan’s fertility affecting policy has been unique in the world. During the intervening periods of the two wars, Japan had adopted intensive populationist policy under the influence of ‘eugenic movement’ designed for encouraging growth of racially ‘pure’ population. Soon after the end of the Second World War, the country switched over to anti-natalist population policy, which continued up to 1960s. Towards the end of 1960s, it was being realized that a sustained low birth rate was resulting in ageing of population and a resultant decline in young labour force.

Therefore, in 1969, the Population Problems Advisory Council recommended a moderate populationist approach. The emerging demographic trends compelled the country once again to revert back to pro-natalist policy. Family planning programmes came to be identified as measures enabling married couples to have as many children as they desired. The pro-natalist drives were further inten­sified with the introduction of Child Allowance Scheme, although presented in the form of a welfare scheme rather than a pro-natalist measure.

As against the low-fertility countries, the high-fertility countries are invariably marked with anti-natalist population policies. Anti-natalist population policies in such countries were necessitated by a phenomenal growth in population during the recent past. It will, however, be not correct to suggest that the anti-natalist policy is a phenomenon of the twentieth century. Even during the ancient period some Greek thinkers had advocated limits to family size with a view to obtain the ideal population size of the nation-state.

The concern regarding the adverse effects of a large population size was reinforced with much vigour and force by the publication of Malthus’ Essay on Population, towards the end of the eighteenth century. Although, many of Malthus’ arguments were criticized and discarded later, the essence of Malthusian thesis was further popularized by the classical and neo-classical economists in the form of law of dimin­ishing returns. The onset of a phenomenal growth in the population of the less developed countries, in the second half of the twentieth century, further reinforced the need of anti-natalist population policies. Most of the less developed countries including India have, therefore, incorporated a series of measures to control birth rate.

These anti-natalist policies generally include both direct and indirect measures for fertility control. While the direct measures include provision of contracep­tives, liberalization of laws regulating abortions, increase in age at marriage etc., the indirect measures tend to reduce fertility levels indirectly through some other social and economic variables.

They include measures aimed at improving the status of women; strengthening health care services for mothers, infants and children; providing social security; popularizing population education at school and college levels etc. They are included in various developmental programmes undertaken by the government. In addition to these measures, various incentives and disincentives aimed at controlling birth rate also figure among the indirect anti-natalist measures.

Q.2 What do you mean by integrating the population and discuss the approaches to integration of population education?

The purpose of population education is to help people understand the impact of population change on their lives and to develop the decision-making skills they will need to cope with their population situation and improve it.

Joseph van Arendonk, Assistant Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) ERA Monograph I.

A population grows mainly as a result of natural increase, i.e. an excess of births over deaths. To a lesser extent it also grows from immigration. In general, both birth and death rates are lower in developed than in developing countries.

Although they are still higher than in developed countries, death rates in developing countries have dropped sharply as a result of improved standards of health and hygiene. At the same time, birth rates remain high and this is attributable to factors such as:

 the perception of children as insurance against poverty;

 early marriage;

 social customs favouring male children for performing religious ceremonies and for inheritance;

 limited use of methods of birth control.

As a consequence of high birth rates, developing countries tend to have very young populations. In Zimbabwe, for example, 48 per cent of the population is under 15, compared with less than 30 per cent in developed countries. Such a youthful age-structure makes it necessary for an abnormally high proportion of government expenditure to be directed to non-productive areas such as clinics and schools. The education sector, for example, is under continuous pressure to ‘keep up’; to build more schools and recruit more teachers as more and more children move into the school age-group.

Population policy is a matter of controversy in many countries. It is affected by political, cultural and religious factors, and each country has to work out its population policy in relation to its own constraints.

A number of basic and universally applicable concepts form part of the content of population education.

First, there is the importance of having respect for others, especially persons of the opposite sex. If children can learn this, can understand what it means and can develop it as a strongly held value, then they will refrain from behaviour which is potentially harmful to others.

A second equally important concept is that of self-respect and self-esteem. While this is pertinent to both boys and girls, it is particularly important for girls, and should be accompanied by exposure to the variety of options (employment opportunities, etc.) which will open up to them if they finish their formal education and avoid early pregnancy.

Third, children and young people should learn to understand that it is possible to plan. This includes the importance and feasibility of family planning. When children leave school, at whatever age, they need to understand the importance of planning the first pregnancy in terms of the benefits (health, social and economic) that planning can bring to them and their children. They should understand too that, ideally, children are born out of a conscious, carefully thought-out decision on the part of loving parents. This concept needs to be taught early and is one of the most important in population education.

The fourth concept to convey is that behaviour has consequences. Since individuals can usually control their behaviour, they must accept responsibility for its consequences. If adolescents behave irresponsibly, for example, in the area of reproductive behaviour, they should understand that the consequences may have lifelong implications.

Finally, children and young people need to learn how to withstand social pressures. These may come from peers in societies where early adolescent sexual activity is prevalent; they can also come from parents or other relatives and neighbours who expect young couples to have their first child as soon as possible after marriage. Population education should help learners to recognize these types of social pressure and help students to deal with them in a responsible manner.

The concepts of ‘population education’ and ‘improvement of the situation of women’ are closely related. The essential common factor is that of the integration of women in development activity. The time has come for the explicit recognition of the role of women as active agents of development. Population education is based on two main concerns, one for the family and the individual, the other for major demographic trends. Women are at the centre of both. Through marriage and procreation, the woman is at the heart of the family and also of demographic change. As an individual she must develop self-confidence and self-esteem. In some parts of the world the demographic scene is largely governed by factors such as early marriage, polygamy and repeated childbirth. Among adolescents pregnancy is an all too common cause of girls dropping out of school. It is important to take action to ensure that all adolescents and adults, especially girls and women, have access to population education.

Q.3 What are the different types of materials developed by the different agencies offering the non formal programs in Population education?

The present study was aimed to assess the performance of the non-formal basic education (NFBE) schools project initiated in the province of Punjab with the assistance of Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). The study was conducted in 120 NFBE schools in four districts of Punjab. It was a survey study in which data were collected from female teachers, officers of NFBE, students and their parents. 100 NFBE school teachers, 20 officers of NFBE schools and 500 students and their parents participated in the study. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. It was found that the project is achieving its targets as planned. It was also found that drop-out rates were higher and the teachers were not satisfied with their job structure. It was further concluded that a proper media campaign may be initiated to mobilize the community. The study recommended that learning materials may be developed in the regional languages.

Pakistan is a developing country with limited resources and high population growth rate of 2.6 % per annum. The increase in the enrollment rate is not in line with the increase in the rate of population growth in the country, and each year millions of children school-age are deprived from getting admission to formal schools due the shortage of schools.

During the first decade of the 21^st century – since the policy focused on rural areas – the number of primary schools increased sharply for both boys and girls, although the proportion of girls’ schools remained constant. The Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey, conducted by the Government of Pakistan in 2006-07, revealed that every year dropout rates for girls are increasing.

A look around neighboring countries in South Asia shows that at the start of the new millennium, Maldives and Sri Lanka had both achieved literacy rates of well over 90 %, considerably higher than the regional average of 54 %. Similarly many countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America have quite successfully adopted non-formal education and are offering different programs. Developed countries like Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, France, UK and USA and developing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan have seized upon its advantages to meet pressing educational needs and social needs (Haq, 2002). Non-formal systems of education are being used effectively in different parts of the world in order to solve the long standing problems of mass illiteracy and creating social awareness. It was realized that through the formal system alone, illiteracy and other problems of education cannot be solved. Therefore, many countries of the world, both developed and developing, realizing the advantages of the non-formal system, have adopted it and made it an integral part of their national system of education. However, in Pakistan there is dire need to launch a national movement for literacy. The country is far behind the target of 100 % literacy as set by the Dakar Declaration (2000).

The need for NFE in Pakistan has arisen because not only is the formal system unable to cope with the rising demand of education in the country with its rigid nature but also because the costs of formal education are higher. In several of his writings, Ghafoor (1997) identified two factors for low progress of primary education, and these include inside school factors and outside school factors. The inside school factors include the poor physical facilities, dearth of teaching and learning materials, shortage of trained and qualified teachers, inadequate training of teachers, inadequate learning climate, high pupil/teacher ratio, overemphasis on subject matter rather than personality development, rigid educational policies and practices and urban based curriculum. The outside school factors, as identified, include low socio-economic background of the child, malnutrition among children and socio-cultural problems related to female education.

A report by UNESCO in 1999 on Basic Education in Pakistan points out that al-ready in the past several years non-formal education programs had been initiated. The Non-Formal Basic Education program (NFBE) was initially launched in Pakistan in the 1950s under the title of “Adult Basic Education Program”. Several non-formal education programs have been started but no effort has yet been made to launch a non-formal education program on a national level, although this may be changing.

Major initiatives towards “Education for All” were the Social Action Program (SAP), the Education Sector Reforms (ESR) and the National Plan of Action (NPA) which have specially targeted girls’ education and have allocated significant funds for this purpose. This factor encouraged gender equality in education. The NPA (2000) is a roadmap to meet the education for all (EFA) targets. This plan represents the will and determination of the nation to fight against illiteracy and universalize primary education. It aimed to achieve 100 % participation in basic education (grade 1-5) by the year 2015 both for male and female students. Non-Formal Basic Education Schools (NFBES) were first established in 1996 under the Prime Minister Literacy Commission Islamabad. The concept of these schools is based on the philosophy to involve parents, community and the non-governmental organizations in the promotion of education through non-formal means. Some of the objectives of the NFBE schools include the universalization of primary education, increased involvement of the community and NGOs, provision of employment opportunities to the educated persons and empowerment of rural women. The NFBES are based on the “Home school” model. The selected community provides a teacher with a fixed salary of Rs.1000 per month. The five years primary curriculum is taught in three and a quarter years. The government provides funds to the community through intermediary non governmental organizations (NGOs). Accordingly, the NFBES were established all over the country, covering urban slums, small towns and remote villages. The target of the NFBES are the dropouts of the formal schools of age group 10 to 14 for whom the completion period to cover primary level education is to be 2-3 years while students attaining the level of the school grades 5-9 have to complete this course in 3-4 years instead of 5-6 years, the time specified for formal schools. According to the Planning Commission of the Non- Formal Basic Education Schools (1998), these schools have to complement the formal school by offering education in those areas where regular primary schools do not exist and where children are out of schools for various reasons. This school model required fewer resources. The community provides the school building and manages the school. The teachers of NFBES do not have to worry about transfers and, therefore, work with a missionary zeal. According to PMLC (1996), the program of Non-formal Basic Education Schools is implemented through NGOs and community-based organizations that identify sites for schools, supervise them, give inputs and teaching aids, and pay remuneration to the teachers. These NGOs also manage to provide training to the teachers, form parent-teacher committees at local levels and hold meetings with the teachers and communities. In turn they are paid Rs.200 per school per month in addition to getting awards for the best performance. Presently, a number of schemes and projects have been initiated in the country. In this connection a five year program has been chalked out for imparting education and skill development for rehabilitation and providing economic opportunities to illiterates in jails and working in factories. A scheme of literacy under the title “Model Districts for Literacy Campaigns to Achieve 100 % Literacy” has been launched with the assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in four districts of Punjab. The scheme was approved in 2004. Its major components included the establishment of adult literacy centers and non-formal basic education (NFBE) centers and awareness campaigns. The targets of this scheme are to achieve 100 % literacy in four districts (Khushab, Khanewal, Mandi Bahauddin and Dera Ghazi Khan) of Punjab.

Q.4 Discuss the women’s programs other than formal education with the relationship of population education.

Education, especially for women and girls, was vital in international efforts to achieve developmental goals, Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, told the Commission on Population and Development today as it opened its thirty-sixth session.

Addressing the main theme of the session –- population, education and development -- Mr. Desai noted that education had been a classic cross-cutting theme of major conferences of the 1990s.  The Commission could give crucial guidance to a General Assembly working group currently putting together a report on the coordinated and integrated follow-up of those conferences.

Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said that ensuring education for all children was a key goal of the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).  Since that conference, population education programmes and policies had increasingly emphasized health issues, including reproductive health.

Global population, she said, would rise from 6.3 billion at present to
8.9 billion in 2050, 400 million lower than estimates made in 2000.  Lower population growth was due to increasing mortality, mainly due to HIV/AIDS, and lower birth rates, and thanks to successful family planning and reproductive health programmes.  Strengthening those programmes was critical, she said, adding that family-planning demands would increase about 40 per cent by 2015.

Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the United Nations for the first time had projected that future fertility levels in most developing countries would fall below 2.1 children per woman -- the level needed for long-term replacement of the population -- at some point in this century.  By 2050, three out of every four countries in less developed regions would be experiencing below-replacement fertility.

Introducing one of the session’s reports and launching its debate,
Larry Heligman, Assistant Director of the Population Division, highlighted education’s key role in national development, individual well-being and personal fulfilment.  Highly educated men and women were more likely than less educated people to pursue careers after graduation, and marry later in life.  Higher education often led to better health and lower mortality.

During the ensuing discussion, several speakers stressed that education was still inaccessible to a vast number of people, especially girls.  Investment in girls’ education, they pointed out, paid off by delaying their marriage age, improving women’s access to family planning, and increasing their productivity and income.  Other speakers emphasized the vital role education played in preventing HIV/AIDS and mitigating its effects on individuals, families and communities.

Many delegates expressed concern over the decline in international funding to support population activities in developing countries.  The Cairo target of mobilizing $17 billion by the year 2000 had fallen short, they said, and efforts by developing countries to raise funds had gone unmatched by assistance from developed countries.  The international community must reverse that negative trend and revitalize the flow of resources.

In other business today, the Commission elected the officers of its bureau, who included Gediminas Serksnys (Lithuania), Chairman; and Iftekhar Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Crispin Grey-Johnson (Gambia), Marc Bichler (Luxembourg),
Alfredo Chuquihuara (Peru), Vice-Chairmen.  Election of a
Vice-Chairman-cum-Rapporteur was postponed until a later date.

The Commission further took note of the report of the Bureau on the
intersessional Bureau meeting, introduced by Antonio Golini (Italy), the Chairman of the thirty-fifth session, which met in Rome on 21 and 22 October 2002, but did not approve the report’s recommendations.  In addition, it adopted its provisional agenda and agreed on its organization of work.

Additional reports were introduced to the Commission by Delia Barcelona and Ann Pawliczko, both of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Other speakers at today’s meeting included the representatives of Morocco (on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), Greece (on behalf of the European Union), United States, Japan, Brazil, Russian Federation, Pakistan, China, Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Algeria, and India.

In addition, the Commission heard statements from representatives of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and Partners in Population and Development.

Alaka Basu, Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, also addressed the meeting.

The Commission will meet again on Tuesday, 1 April at 10 a.m. to begin consideration of national experience in population matters:  population, education and development.  At 11:30 a.m., it will hear a keynote address by Paul Demeny, Distinguished Scholar at the Population Council, New York.

Q.5 Write a detailed note on Adult Education Programme and its function in content of population education.

In 1969 a seminar organised by Family Planning Sangt gave first emphasis in introducing population education in India and Govt. of India made NPP (National Population Policy) in 1976. “It is essentially related to human resource development. It is not only concerned with population awareness but also with the developing values and attitudes which take care of the quality and quantity of population. It must explain to the students cause and effect relationship, so as to enable them to make rational decision on their own behaviour on population matters.”

From the analysis of the above given definitions we find that population education is an exploration of knowledge and attitudes about population, family living, reproduction education and basic values. It also gives hints about the problems created by ever-increasing population.

Need and Importance of 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.

It also affects the prosperity and progress of nations, international security and peace. 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:

(i) Rapid growth of population is a constant threat to our economic development.

(ii) Over-population affects the health and well being of the younger generation.

(iii) Population explosion creates an obstacle for raising the standard of living of the masses.

(iv) 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.

(v) 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.

General Aims of Population Education:

The aims of population education are as follows:

(i) Population education aims at assisting the individual to understand the causes and consequences of population phenomena.

(ii) It enables the individual to understand how docs population situation affect the individual and society.

(iii) It aims at recognizing the causes of demographic phenomena and to enable the people to make changes in order to remove those obstacles for social progress.

(iv) It enables to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to understand the concept of population education.

(v) It enables the learner to take a conscious and right decision about the prevailing population situations.

Contents of Population Education:

The NCERT organized a workshop on “Population Education” at New Delhi in July 1970.

It suggested that the following five areas should form the curriculum of population education:

i. The Population Growth.

ii. Economic Development and Population.

iii. Social Development and Population.

iv. Health, Nutrition and Population.

v. Biological Factors, Family life and Population.

The following topics have been suggested by D. Gopal Rao as the content of Population Education:

i. The history of population growth-world in general, India in particular causes, trends and implications.

ii. An introduction to demography with special reference to India.

iii. Effects of rapid population growth on economic, social, cultural and political aspects of national development.

iv. Effects of rapid population growth on individual and family life, standard of living.

v. Effects of rapid population growth on the physical environment, food, natural resources and quality of life.

vi. The population policies and programmes of the world in general.

vii. An elementary knowledge of the physiology of reproduction wherever feasible.