Sunday, December 26, 2021

Is escape the only solution?

What do India's young people want? Lokniti-CSDS in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung interviewed 6,277 youth aged 15-34 across 18 states in July-August 20-21, TIE. 39% of young men are working compared to 11% of young women, while 42% of women are studying compared to 36% of men. Unfortunately in India, unemployment rises with the level of education, the highest being among those with post-graduate degrees, TNIE. Unemployment was lowest in rural women with only primary education while it was highest in those with post-graduate degrees, TIE. In the survey, "More than half (55%) said they would prefer a government job; a quarter (24%) would prefer to start their own business." A higher proportion of young people want to get married later, 56% worried about their jobs, 54% worried about their physical appearance, and "More than 50% of youth reported becoming angry over small matters." Showing a high level of stress. "In 2022, the median age in India will be 28, well below 37 in China and the United States," BEN. "Since India's rapid growth was derailed by the 2008 recession, it has struggled to get back on track." "Of the 13 million young people who enter the labor market each year, only one in four management professionals, one in five engineers and one in ten graduates are considered suitable for employment. Among the broad bands of university graduates, most are considered unfit for work." In 2018, in an interview with a television channel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked, "If a person selling pakodas earns Rs 200 at the end of the day, will it be considered employment or not?" FPJ. A pakoda (pakora) is a spicy snack of vegetables fried in batter, wikipedia. Children must first go through school education to become graduates. "Shutting down schools to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has led to increased dropouts and huge gaps in learning levels," News18. "An Azim Premji Foundation survey of over 16,000 students in primary schools found an alarming dip in language skills and math skills -- 92 percent of the children have lost at least one language ability, while 82 percent have lost math skills." According to a report by a parliamentary committee on education, "Some 24 crore (240 million) children have missed school for over a year; 77% of children have no access to online education; In any case 'Online education is not real education'; and, Dropouts have increased at secondary level," wrote Sukanta Chaudhuri. "Over 120 million children in India are served by the midday meal scheme, just over half of whom get it in anganwadi centers," Scroll. "These meals are crucial both for child nutrition and cognitive development." As schools have remained closed children have missed out. "School lockdowns have robbed a generation of upward mobility in India," wrote Andy Mukherjee. "A total of 8,81,254 Indians have given up their citizenship since 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha last week," moneycontrol. Is that the only solution?   

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