Give 10% of Sikkim the Best of Everything

Editorial:
Little over 61,000 of Sikkim’s population is under seven years old, making up 10.05% of the population. The national share of population in this age-group is slightly higher at 13.1%, down from 15.9% in 2001. The proportion has not changed much for Sikkim, but what this low “young age dependency”, as census enumerators refer to the figure, means is that parents can now devote greater resources, including time, to their children. At a wider, society and State level, this means that the existing infrastructure and funds can go further since the number of beneficiaries is fewer.
Demographic experts welcome such developments because a fewer number of the very young translates into an enhanced ability to invest in child development. This is important, and Sikkim has already made a welcome policy-commitment towards this end with the quality education effort underway at schools and a slew of other schemes aimed at improved nourishment for the young. It’s simplistic, but one needs to be bear in mind that a fewer number of new-borns today, while it might free resources to ensure better care and education for them in the immediate future, also translates as greater responsibilities on their shoulders in the longer run. As a generation ages, they will move stop being active contributors to the economy and the work-place. Improved healthcare facilities [health facilities will only improve with time] will mean that they will remain dependent for more years. The share of elderly will increase, and with fewer young coming of age down the line, the pressure on them to look after the aged will increase. They will be able to deliver on their responsibilities only as well as they have been groomed for life; all the more reason why they should be exposed to the best education and groomed with a stronger sense of responsibility and belonging if the present generation wants to be looked after better when they retire and grow into the dependency of old age.
There are many schemes and projects aimed at a slightly older age-group in the 18 to 25 bracket. In many ways, this is a tough task because it seeks to turn around a generation guided by mediocrity. The response to and limited success of the various skill development courses underway bear out the severe challenges of the task undertaken. Things can be made much different for the under seven-year olds. If education is genuinely touched by quality, a more confident and definitely more resourceful generation can be prepared. One, which apart from serving the present generation’s selfish need of being taken care of later, will also be able to harness whatever is bequeathed to them of Sikkim. This is also something everyone owes to the very young. Think about it, if 90% of the population wakes up to its responsibility towards the remaining 10% who depend on them for everything, they can ensure that the minors receive the best of everything. If this 90% consciously resolves to even display that they genuinely care, a much more responsive, warm and compassionate group will adorn Sikkim in the very near future.