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UNICEF's State of the World's Children Report released on Monday is a grim reminder of the rapid strides India has to make to catch up wit...

December 16, 1999 12:00 AM IST

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UNICEF8217;s State of the World8217;s Children Report released on Monday is a grim reminder of the rapid strides India has to make to catch up with China, leave aside the industrialised West. The report is significant because it is the last of this millennium. Less than three weeks later when India enters the third millennium, nearly 360 million of its people will be unable to read and write. It will retain the dubious distinction of having the largest population of illiterates in the world, which will be more than the combined population of many European countries.

The extent of the failure can be gauged from the fact that 67 million children do not have access to basic education. A dramatic turnaround in the situation is impossible because the powers that be are yet to realise the need for it. Apart from paying lip-service to universalisation of primary education and raising slogans about making education a fundamental right, there has been no concrete action. It is true that compared to the previous year, Indiahas made some progress on the infant mortality front. India8217;s under-five mortality rate of 49 among a total of 191 countries may look impressive when compared to Pakistan8217;s 33 but it is far below China8217;s 79 and Sri Lanka8217;s 137.

Whatever little improvement in the rating In-dia has achieved is on account of the widening of the immunisation coverage. The report lists the areas where India has to make an impact so that the overall profile of the Indian children is vastly improved. The scale of discrimination against gi-rls and women as reflected in practices like female foeticide is utterly shocking. The report mentions that among certain communities in Bihar and Ra-jasthan two most backward states the birth ratio was as low as 60 females for every 100 males. These girls, referred to as quot;children of povertyquot; in the report, have to suffer a host of discrimination in their relentless fight for survival. However shocking these figures may be, they are not strange to those in authority. Yet, no serious effort isbeing made to check the imbalances and improve the lot of the girl children. Much of the social maladies that India suffers from are primarily on account of the low level of education of the people. Thus central to any corrective mechanism that India has to put in place is a wholehearted fight against illiteracy.

This, again, is easier said than done. Progra-mmes like immunisation can succeed only if a powerful educational campaign is launched to motivate the parents to have their children immunised. Similar campaigns have to be organised ag-ainst female foeticide and general discrimination against girls. The government alone cannot undertake such a task and it needs the active participation of all opinion-makers in the country.

The whole effort can be given a push if the government accords education the necessary priority. The cost may be enormous to implement the concept of universalisation of primary education but it is worth the effort considering the tremendous impact it will have on the overallprofile of the people. For a nation which has stepped into the frontiers of science and technology, it is a shame to be compared to sub-Saharan Africa. The earlier this realisation sets in, the better.

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