growing up in poverty: young lives findings in india
DESCRIPTION
At a special event to launch new data from the Young Lives household survey, Dr Renu Singh, Country Director of Young Lives India presented preliminary descriptive findings from Round 4 of the Young Lives survey, focusing on changes in children’s lives in the eleven years since the survey began. Our findings show that in order to reap the demographic dividend of India’s large youth population, policymakers must find a way to keep children in education and to ensure that the education system provides them with the learning and skills they need to find decent work and livelihoods.TRANSCRIPT
Growing up in Poverty: Findings from Young Lives in India
International Round 4 Launch 18 September 2014
Magnolia, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Young Lives Survey
2
Preliminary Findings
Rounds 1 – 4
Small Improvement in Stunting Levels over Time
3 Source: Young Lives Survey Data
40.3
26.5 25.7
37.1
34.4
39.8
20.3 20.4
33.4
29.8
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Bottom Tercile Top Tercile Urban Rural
Terciles of wealth index Place of Residence Total
2006 2013
Percentage of 12-year-old children stunted
% ch
ild
ren
Consistent Inequality in Access to Sanitation
4 Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Percentage of 12-year-old children with access to
improved sanitation
93
21
24
22
38
75
92
16
17
23
33
60
Urban
Rural
Scheduled Castes
Scheduled Tribes
Backward Classes
Other Castes
Pla
ce o
f R
esid
ence
C
hild
's E
thn
ic G
rou
p o
r C
aste
2006 2013
Increased from 84% in 2002 to
almost 99% of Younger Cohort
children in 2013.
Almost universal access to improved water
Increasing Enrollment at Age 12
Cross-cohort Comparison
5
% ch
ild
ren
Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Enrollment Patterns – Intercohort Comparison
89.2 91.2 87.3 85.3 86.8 88.4
96.1 97.0 97.3 96.6 97.2 96.1 96.4 98.7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Total Male Female SC ST BC OC
Gender Caste
Age 12 (OC - 2006) Age 12 (YC - 2013)
No major gaps in Enrolment across socio-economic
groups and location
6 Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Enrollment Patterns – Intercohort Comparison
% ch
ild
ren
81.8
91.5 94.3 95.2
87.3
95.8 96.7 98.4 99.1 96.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bottom tercile Middle tercile Top tercile Urban Rural
Household wealth level Place of residence
Age 12 (OC - 2006) Age 12 (YC - 2013)
Learning Declines
7
Percentage of children correctly answering maths questions
Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Grade Progression
8
Children over-age for grade in school (%)
Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Older Cohort (age 12 in 2006)
Younger Cohort (age 12 in 2013)
Average Total 11.1 18.2
Gender
Boys 10.9 22.9
Girls 11.3 12.6
Caste
SC 14.6 16.8
ST 17.2 31.2
BC 9.3 15.9
OC 8.7 15.2
Type of school
Private 14.2 23.1
Public 9.8 15.3 Note: Total number of over-age children: 336 (18.2%) in R4 (2013)
Falling Enrollment Across Time (Older Cohort)
9
% ch
ild
ren
Source: Young Lives Survey Data
97.4 96.5 98.2 97.6
88.8
81.7
90.9 93.9
77.4
69.5 73.2
89.8
48.6
34.7
44.5
66.9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Total Bottom Tercile Middle Tercile Top Tercile
Age 8 (2002) Age 12 (2005) Age 15 (2009) Age 19 (2013)
Enrollment: Older Cohort
% o
f
Ch
ildre
n
Youth Trajectories
10 Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Level of education of 19-year-old currently / not enrolled in education
Boys % of boys Girls % of girls All
% of sample
19-year-olds currently enrolled Secondary 2 0.8 2 1.0 4 0.9
Higher secondary 58 22.1 24 12.1 82 17.7
Post-secondary / Vocational 47 17.9 24 12.1 71 15.4
University 156 59.3 149 74.9 305 66.0
Total currently enrolled 263 100.0 199 100.0 462 100.0
19-year-olds no longer in school (and highest qualification achieved)
No qualification 21 10.4 38 13.2 59 12.0
Lower primary 31 15.3 37 12.8 68 13.9
Upper primary 47 23.3 84 29.2 131 26.7
Secondary 70 34.7 80 27.8 150 30.6
Higher secondary 19 9.4 47 16.3 66 13.5
Post-secondary / Vocational 13 6.4 0 0.0 13 2.7
University 1 0.5 2 0.7 3 0.6
Total no longer in school 202 100.0 288 100.0 490 100.0
Early Dropout from the Poorest Households
11 Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Dropout Patterns – Older Cohort Children
% ch
ild
ren
10.1
55.0
26.0
19.0
12.7
40.0 38.4
21.6
29.5
40.2
35.9
23.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Total Bottom Tercile Middle Tercile Top Tercile
Age 8 to 12 (R1 to R2) Age 12 to 15 (R2 to R3) Age 15 to 19 (R3 to R4)
Early Marriage Persists
12
Source: Young Lives Survey Data
Marriage and Fertility at age 19 (2013)
Boys % Girls %
Single (never married) 456 98.1 308 63.2
Married or cohabiting* 9 1.9 174 35.7
Widowed, divorced or separated 0 0.0 5 1.0
Total 465 487
Has had a child 6 102
* Only 1 young man was living with his partner, not yet married.
15.1
47.5
24.0
13.4
None Elementary
Secondary Higher Secondary
Higest Educational Level Attained by OC Married
Female Who Discontinued Studies
* Among all the married
female women (179), only 12
(6.7%) are currently enrolled
(2 in Secondary and 10 in
Higher Secondary standard)
Policy Implication- Children in the Centre of All
Development Planning
13
• Multi-pronged targetted approach to tackle malnutrition is
required, particularly focused on economically and socially
marginalized children
• Focus on learning, not just access- build accountability
mechanisms
• Children and youth from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds need support to continue education
• Attention must be paid to realising goals of the National
Youth Policy, 2014 so that adolescents achieve their full
potential and gain the skills required to get them a secure
future
Thank you !
14