The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Education must to tackle population growth: Jain

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Education must to tackle population growth: Jain

Staff Reporter

`It is not the numbers but the quality that has hit development'

BANGALORE: There is no need to follow the crude policy of denying votes or to be a people's representative to those who have more than two children, to control the birth rate. The birth rate will come down if people are provided good health services and education, L.C. Jain, former member, Planning Commission, said here on Monday.

Speaking at the Asia Pacific Summit on "Population and development", Mr. Jain said the population policy should be a judicious combination of health services and education.

This is what Kerala has followed, which has resulted in bringing down the birth rate and also infant mortality rate. "There is no need to adopt the crude policy of denying women a representation in village panchayats for having more than two children," he said.

Mr. Jain said that it was not the numbers but the quality of the population that was affecting the country's development.

"Many women and children do not have access to education, which is necessary for improving the quality of life. The Government should empower the village panchayats to set up institutions that provide quality education and health services," he said. This helps in bringing out the hidden potential of women and children. "If such revolutionary thinking is put to work, it can create wonders in controlling population," he said.

Agreeing with the views expressed by Mr. Jain, the Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University, M.S. Thimappa, said quality education helps not only in finding jobs but also create jobs. He asked the Centre for Adult and Continuing Education, which is conducting the summit, to create awareness about population control.

Inaugurating the summit, D. Manjunath, Minister for Higher Education, said there is a need for the country to look beyond the two-child norm of population control. He emphasised the need to follow methods adopted by China. He also stressed the need for universities and colleges to take up demographic studies.

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