Why child development and social inclusion are crucial for sustainable development
Sustained economic growth and social prosperity can be achieved through greater participation of the backward segments of the population, and by taking proper care of children
Almost all the countries in the world pursue economic development through economic activities and policies that are aligned with globalisation. It is a process which is largely dependent on imports and exports. Bangladesh is also moving rapidly towards becoming a middle income country by joining this global development process.
Education, health and quality of life are closely related to economic growth, which ensure basic human rights and normal living standards. However, social development - improvements in education, health and quality of life - happen only by adopting pragmatic strategies in the context of the country's own socio-economic conditions.
Social development basically refers to improvement in the standard of living of the people through economic development, in which the participation of people from all levels of society, on the basis of equality and equity, is ensured. Here, the equitable distribution of development benefits is ensured for poverty reduction. Basic needs are met and a decent standard of living is maintained by all people.
According to Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen, social development is the process of expanding human capabilities and freedoms, which includes access to economic facilities and social opportunities. Therefore, in order to make economic development sustainable, it is absolutely necessary to ensure social inclusion by creating opportunities for full participation for all, regardless of religion, gender, age or disability, and to prevent the degradation of values in society.
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One of the keys to ensuring social development is working with children. A child's mind is like clay that can be moulded into any desirable form. If the foundation of good thinking and values are formed from childhood, it will later play a role in social life.
Asia's high performing countries, such as South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, have focused on increasing exports, as well as achieving universal literacy for all, healthcare and social reforms, from the beginning of their economic growth journey.
The United Nations Human Development Index considers a country's future economic trajectory as closely related to a country's per capita output or income, as well as improvements in education and health. Japan is one of the developed economies in Asia with a high ranking in the human development index and the first place in the world peace index.
Japanese values, morals are well known. They respect their own culture, they value their social education from their family that is passed down from generation to generation. Along with schoolwork, children are taught manners with importance. Children are taught to respect elders, help them cross the road, offer a helping hand, and work together. By making them clean classrooms and cafeterias in groups, the mindset of not taking any task lightly is developed among children.
Thus education along with a sense of order and strong ties make them generous and responsible towards family, society and people. They practise "We not I", i.e. thinking not only for themselves or individualism, but for the whole society.
At present, despite economic progress, many people in our country are deprived of socio-economic benefits. Various obstacles block the path of development and equal opportunity to live a healthy and normal social life.
Parents/families do not take proper care of children due to lack of education, or awareness, or time. Instead of a tight-knit joint family, children grow up in a nuclear family. Adolescents are growing up alone due to the lack of opportunities to play sports, participate in various festivals, engage in creative activities, and socialise with people of different ages, including peers.
Children are becoming extremely addicted to mobile phones or related social networks and are sometimes involved in criminal activities. Every child has the right to quality education and the main purpose of education is character building, which enhances their cognitive, social and moral skills.
There is a shortage of qualified and trained teachers in our schools. A survey revealed that 37% of teachers in our country relied on unauthorised guide books, especially for creative teaching. Moreover, the teacher-student ratio in secondary schools is 1:46, while the ideal ratio is 1:30, as per the education policy. 11.1% of children drop out of secondary school. All these are hindrances to developing the moral character of our children.
Almost one-fourth (3.6 crore) of Bangladesh's population are adolescents, whose skill and moral development can have far-reaching benefits. The Bangladesh government implements social security programmes for children, including providing free books/scholarships for access to education.
Besides, the government has established an apex development institution, PKSF, which implements programmes to build social capital, in addition to providing financial assistance to various programmes through several non-government organisations.
Non-monetary services for social cohesion, mainly through formation of adolescent clubs, are noteworthy initiatives of the PKSF. Through this, the PKSF carries out various social and health awareness activities like yard meetings with club members and their parents, rallies against child marriage/dowry/sexual harassment/drug addiction, cultural and sports competitions, setting up of libraries, reading sessions etc.
Social capital, or the benefits of social interaction, communication and cooperation through the inclusion of adolescents, has already been proven to bring positive changes in various societies around the world. Even though these programmes are insufficient in our country, because of these, many people can prevent child marriage, some get the opportunity for higher education in the best universities, some recover from drug addiction, and many neighborhoods become free of harrassment.
It is possible to build a progressive nation by forming community-based adolescents' clubs on a large scale. By performing in various group activities, positive mentality, courage, desire to do good together are developed. Involvement in several activities increases enthusiasm, moral education, values, patriotism, creativity and sense of responsibility among children.
Sustained economic growth and social prosperity can only be achieved through greater participation of the backward segments of the population in opportunities that are required to maintain a healthy and normal standard of living.
Dr Syeda Khaleda is the team Leader of Programme for Adolescents, PKSF and a member of The Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
