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» Population and Sex Ratio
 
In view of the large size of 230 million and the fact that they comprise a significant reproductive age group, it is believed that adolescents will play a major role in determining the size and growth pattern of India’s population. The sex ratio according to the 2001 Census was 933:1000, which is an indicator of gender discrimination. According to an UNICEF report of 1995, out of 12 million girls born in the country each year, 25 per cent did not get to see their fifteenth birthday. The sex ratio for adolescence in the 13-19 age group declined from 897.7 in 1981 to 884.2 in 1991. The high level of female mortality in the age of 15-19 years would suggest maternal mortality among young teenaged mothers. In this context, the gender dimension of interventions for adolescents gains added significance.
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» Education and Literacy
 
The literacy rates in the country have shown an increasing trend over the years and especially during the decade of the 1990s. This has been primarily due to the literacy campaigns and the efforts of other basic education programs. The following table provides some indication of the literacy rates of the adolescent age group 10-19 years.
Percentage of Literates by Age (10-19 Years) and Sex, 1961-2001
Age Group 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
M F M F M F M F M F
10-14 Yrs. 54.4 28.4 59.8 38.1 66.8 44.8 77 68.8 86 77
15-19 Yrs. 52 23.8 63..4 37.7 66.1 43.3 75.3 65.8 85 73
M = Male | F = Female
Source: Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Youth in India 1998 in GOI, June 2001: 4; and Census of India, 2001.

Apart from the difference in male and female literacy rates, attention might be drawn to the fact that this data hides the low levels of literacy in less developed regions of the country and the sharp gender disparities in literacy in those areas. The data on the percentage distribution of adolescents of different age groups, across different educational levels, suggests that only 49.6 per cent of boys and 30.6 per cent of girls in the 15-19 age groups have studied beyond middle school in rural India. The corresponding figures for urban areas are 67.4 per cent for boys and 63.8 per cent for girls studying in secondary schools and above. A significant percentage of children do not complete primary schooling with many of them dropping out before reaching class V (National Centre for Applied Economic Research/Human Development Index 1994 in GOI, June 2001). Depicting the problems faced by less developed regions, it is significant to note that gross female enrolment was 33.6 per cent while that of males was 78.57 per cent in the 11-14 years age group in 1998-1999.

The Working Group on Adolescents identifies the following reasons for the poor attendance and high drop out rates in the adolescent age group: “Lack of accessible middle schools in rural areas, unimaginative curricula, dysfunctional schools, disinterested teachers; early entry into the work force due to economic reasons, social attitudes and expectations are some of the factors which account for low enrolment and high drop out rates for adolescents. For adolescent girls the additional reasons are – the burden of sibling care; early assumption of domestic responsibilities; physical and sexual insecurity; early marriage; distance from schools; absence of female teachers and parental educational levels (GOI, June 2001:5).”

Drop out Rate (per cent) at Different Stages of School Education
Year Primary
(I-V Classes)		 Middle
(I-VIII Classes)		 Secondary
(I-X Classes)
Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys
1970-71 70.92 64.5 83.4 74.6 NA NA
1980-81 62.5 56.2 79..4 68 86.6 79.8
1990-91 46 40.1 65.13 59.12 76.96 67.5
1994-95p 37.79 35.18 56.53 50.02 73.78 67.15
1996-97p 39.37 38.35 51.89 52.77 66.82 73.04
1998-99p 41.22 38.62 60.09 54.4 NA NA
p : provisional
Source: CSO, Women and Men in India 1998; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Selected Educational Statistics 1998-99; in GOI, 2001: 5.
 
The massive attrition rate in the education system constitutes a waste of national resources, apart from a neglect of the human rights of the population in a welfare state. The drop out rates in classes I-X is about 70 per cent, and only 40-60 per cent pass class X and XII examinations. An added recent concern is the low level of achievement of those who succeed in persisting with formal schooling. Thus, almost 90 per cent of the adolescent population of the country is perceived as ‘unemployable’, given the tendency of schooling to raise aspirations for middle class employment (GOI, June 2001: 6).
 
The data on the gross enrolment ratio and the drop out rate for the larger North Indian states are a matter of serious concern. While the data itself does not appear to reflect the ground realities, it provides some broad indications. The overall picture of enrolment in these states is one of stagnation or decline with high drop out rates.
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» Deviance and High Risk Behaviour
 
The data on juvenile delinquency suggests that the proportion from comparatively low income households (Rs. 500 per month) declined from 54.1 per cent in 1994 to 45.3 per cent 1997, as compared to the share of the middle income households (Rs. 1000-2000 per month) which rose from 11 per cent in 1994 to 15.4 per cent in 1997. This data suggests that while low education and income are some of the main causes for juvenile delinquency, the proportion of this phenomenon is increasing in the higher income brackets. In 1993-94, 4.54 per cent of drug users were in the 12-17 age group and 13.86 per cent were in the age group 18-23. The use of drugs has been found to be closely associated with higher crime rates as well as an increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Knowledge of sexuality and reproduction is limited and often distorted in this age group. (Crime in India, 1997: National Crime Records Bureau, GOI in GOI, June 2001: 7). Adolescents are increasingly the victims of physical and psychological violence both at home and outside due to social practices and gender and caste discrimination.
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» Nutrition
  It is during the period of adolescence that they acquire 50 per cent of their adult weight, more than 20 per cent of their adult height and 50 per cent of the skeletal mass. However, while most current programs are rightly focused on pregnant and lactating mothers or pre-school children, the adolescents tend to be neglected except for a limited nutrition program for girls under the Integrated Child Development Services scheme. There is low recognition of the fact that malnutrition can be remedied especially during the spurt in growth during adolescence. While one in five adolescent boys is malnourished, 45 per cent of girls are in a similar state.
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» Age at Marriage and Fertility Rates
 
It has been found that there is a high correlation between age at marriage, fertility and family health with education levels. Thirty per cent of adolescents in the age group of 15-19 years are married and 94 per cent in the age group of 25-29 years. There is large-scale prevalence of child marriage which adversely affects educational participation and the health status of females. According to the National Family Health Survey 1 (1992-93), 36 per cent of married adolescents in the age group of 13-16 are already mothers or pregnant with their first child and 64 per cent of those in the age group 17-19 are in a similar situation.
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» Work Force Participation
 
According to the live registers of the employment exchange in January 1998, with all their limitations in indicating under employment in the country, 20 per cent of the total applicants were 19 years and under, of whom 22.2 per cent were female. The unemployment rates for the 15-19 age group in 1993-94 were 54.7 per cent for males and 30.7 per cent for females. The labour force and the work force participation rates in the country, as in the following table, draw attention to major difficulties in working with older adolescents. Almost 50 per cent of them tend to enter the labour force and often have to migrate in search of employment in rural areas. They thus move away from the location of an intervention strategy.
Labour Force and Work Force Participation Rates in India by Usual Principal and Subsidiary (1999-2000)
Person per 1000
1999-2000
(55th Round)		 Labour Force Participation Rates Work Force
Participation Rates
10-14 15-19 10-14 15-19
Rural Male 93 532 91 503
Rural Female 96 314 96 304
Urban Male 52 366 49 314
Urban Female 37 121 36 105
Source: 55th round of National Sample Survey on Employment and Unemployment in GOI, June 2001: 11

Despite constitutional and legal provisions to the contrary, according to the 1991 Census 11.2 million children out of a total of 200 million in the age group 5-14 years were part of the work force. NGO estimates put this figure in the range between 50-60 million child workers (Common Position Paper of the UN System in India on Child Labour, 1998 in GOI, June 2001: 11).
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» Policies and Programs
While adolescents are mentioned in several policies of the Government of India and in the reports of UN conferences and conventions, it is only in the later policies of the government like the Population Policy 2000 and the Draft Youth Policy 2001 that the special needs of adolescents have been recognized. It is reported that none of the policies take an integrated view of adolescence. Some of the schemes of the government are generic in nature and thus cover adolescents as well, while few like the Adolescent Girls Scheme renamed as Kishori Shakti Yojana have been designed especially for this category. There is a need for a nodal department to coordinate and monitor policies and programs for adolescents (GOI, June 2001: 14-15).
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