Southern States have almost one fifth school going population
Posted on: 31/Aug/2015 10:05:38 AM
According to a recent survey, 19 per cent of the total school going population in India is from the southern states. The survey took children aged between 5 and 17 years into consideration. There are around 24.67 crore children in this age group in the country. According to the survey, 4.64 crore of these children are from the South.
Say experts, `For the past two decades, the population growth rates in southern states are going down. Due to this, the growth rate of the number of children between 5 and 17 years is on the decline. While in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the fertility rate started going down 20 years ago, in undivided Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka the rate began to go down only in the last 10 years. In the coming years too, the number of school going children will come down and the number of senior citizens will increase. The number of senior citizens (above 60 years) will increase in these states in the coming years as the fertility rate will go down still and the birth rate and death rate will be more or less equal.`
Kerala is the state with the leading number of school going children in the South, accounting for 88.68 per cent of the number. Tamil Nadu is second with 85.86%; Andhra Pradesh 79.96% and Karnataka 76.85%.
An education analyst said, `The state governments should step in and improve infrastructure in the schools, especially in villages, and also provide quality education. In states like Tamil Nadu, the government can provide better transport, especially in places like Chennai. I have spoken to several parents. They want better transport for students to go to school.`
