More than 40 percent of India’s population is below 18 years of age. But while the country spends only 3 percent of its GDP on education, every national policy since 1968 underscores the need to increase the budget to 6 percent of GDP.
By increasing the allocation for critical sector, India can demonstrate its responsibility towards the future of its children. It is also important to scale up policy interventions and provide educational support for vulnerable children, scholarships, training of trainers, remedial classes, up-gradation of infrastructure etc. to ensure that children do not drop out of school, and youth are employable. be.
Unless our demographic dividend is sufficiently educated and skilled, we cannot use this nature of being the youngest country in the world to our advantage. Apart from education and skills, health and nutrition are paramount.
Pandemic pushes learning forward, skills back in gear
According to a UNICEF report, the pandemic has left 42 percent of children between the ages of 6-13 without access to distance learning during school closures. Of the children who have access, 80 percent of children aged 14-18 reported lower levels of learning than those in physical schools, the report said. A report by the National Right to Education Forum estimates that nearly 10 million girls are at risk of dropping out of formal education due to a variety of factors ranging from gender inequality to loss of household income.
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The pandemic also showed how important family members are in achieving healthy growth and care for children who have lost parental care. This includes empowering the caregiver with capacity building, livelihood options, awareness on health and nutrition, child care and development, child safety and security.
Nutrition for children’s body and mind
Apart from the above, another important component of healthy baby care and development is nutrition. Hunger disproportionately affects children who require a balanced and nutritious diet for their physical, mental, intellectual and social development. It is imperative that we strengthen the delivery of programs and services around nutritional support to women, children and vulnerable people.
As far as healthcare delivery is concerned, the pandemic has shown a case for increasing investment in the public sector, as the role of public sector institutions in the fight against the pandemic was commendable.
There should also be a focus on mental health funding. According to a 2019 report by Indian J Psychiatry “at any given time, approximately 50 million Indian children suffer from mental disorders.”, and “80 – 90 percent have not sought support.”
Monitor the impact of schemes before allotment
Another important aspect that suggests allocation of funds is the monitoring and evaluation of various schemes that the government has implemented for the people affected by the pandemic. It is important to assess the impact and build on the experiences gathered.
Be it education or health, the budget should also have provisions for monitoring the implementation of plans, so that it can be ensured that the desired objectives are achieved. While we must continue to emphasize on increasing regional allocation, we must also realize that addressing the crisis of children’s health and education requires a multi-sectoral approach and a holistic society approach. Issues such as income inequality, loss of livelihood and income, and gender inequality have their own impact on the parental care available to children. Therefore, collaborative approach and cross-sectoral interventions involving the Central, State Governments and NGOs are important to achieve better results.
– Author Sumant Kar, General Secretary, SOS Children’s Village of India. Huh
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