One-child Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

One-child Policy - Essay Example The advantages and disadvantages of one-child policy could, however, be argued in the light of the results obtained over the years. Thesis Statement The one-child policy is an effective way of controlling the birth rate and to alleviate social, economic and environmental problems in the long term. Arguments on the policy of one-child The one-child policy was first proposed and introduced by the government in China from the year of 1979 by looking at the huge population base and possible population explosion in future (Newbold 35). The government was concerned about the social, economic and the environmental issues that could pose adverse consequences due to the rising population of the country. This is true for the other large democracies in the world like the US, India, Indonesia, etc. The one-child policy is aimed to bring about stability in the social and economic environment of the country. With the ever increasing population, the income level of the people is likely to suffer (D SCPG 67). The limitations in the employment opportunities and the distribution of limited opportunities among a large number of common people are supposed to pull down the standard of living and gross capital formation in the economy. The discrimination between the members of the society is likely to create situations of conflict among the common masses. Thus the increasing population with no control on the child birth rate is likely to bring about social imbalance and degradation of the national environment. The one-child policy was believed to be effective in addressing these social and economic problems (Fong 39). The one-child policy, however, has not been able to achieve the desired goals of attaining social and economic stability to the extent it desired. This has been due to the fact that the Population and Family planning Commission has implemented it in provincial levels and has been a matter of unequal enforcement. The relaxation of the policy in areas of the country which is densely populated has resulted in cancelling out the benefits of the policy achieved from other parts of the country. The families have been fined on the aspect of non-adherence to one child policy depending on their income levels. This led to the rise of hidden income and illegal money in the economy. The one-child policy has also been viewed a steps leading to human rights violation. The couples in the civilized societies have, however, started to realize the need of one-child with the rising expenditure from time to time and the decreasing gap between the income level and the cost of livelihood. It has been estimated that 33% of the US families had one child or kid thirty years back. Now, the number has been raised to 43%. This reflected a rise in awareness of the people in resorting to one child so that the household expenses could be met with the prevailing income level. The implementation of one-child policy and rise in awareness among the masses has helped to prevent mill ions of birth over the last thirty years. The family planning measures have helped to create a social and economic balance by reducing the level of poverty in the countries, increasing the standard of living with the available resources. The demand and supply equilibrium in the economies were maintained as good effects of the one-child

Elimination of discrimination in modern educational system Essay

Elimination of discrimination in modern educational system - Essay Example More than 40 years ago, the nations of the world asserted the right to education through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights are those fundamental rights, which are crucial to live and develop as human beings with dignity (World Declaration on Education for All, 1990). But in 1990 they observed that despite remarkable efforts around the globe to ensure the right to education for all, more than 100 million children, including at least 60 million girls, have no access to primary schooling; more than 960 million adults, two-thirds of whom are women, are illiterate, and functional illiteracy is a significant problem in all countries, industrialized and developing; more than one-third of the world's adults have no access to the printed knowledge, new skills and technologies that could improve the quality of their lives and help them shape, and adapt to, social and cultural change; and more than 100 million children and countless adults fail to complete basic education programs; millions more satisfy the attendance requirements but do not acquire essential knowledge and skills. The Jomtien World Conference on Education for All (1990), thus, set the goal of Education for All. UNESCO, along with other UN agencies, and a number of international and national non-governmental organizations, has been working towards achieving this goal - adding to the efforts made at the country level (UNESCO 2003). Human Rights Day 2009 observed on 10 December focused on non-discrimination. "Discrimination targets individuals and groups that a vulnerable to attack: the disabled, women and girls, the poor, migrants, minorities, and all those who are perceived as different" (Ban Ki-moon, 2009). UN reports about an estimated 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide, or 10 per cent of the global population, with approximately two-thirds living in developing countries. Despite encouraging developments there are still an estimated 113 million primary school age children not attending school. 90% of them live in low and lower middle income countries, and over 80 million of these children live in Africa. Of those who do enroll in primary school, large numbers drop out before completing their primary education (UNESCO 2004). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. They are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, color, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every human being everywhere (UNICEF, 2008). As of November 2009, 194 countries are signatories to this and they have ratified, accepted, or acceded to it. EXCLUSION UNESCO leads the global 'Education for All' movement, aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015. According to UNESCO, today, 75 million children are excluded from the realm of education mainly due to poverty, gender inequity, disability, child labor, speaking a minority language, belonging to an indigenous people, and living a nomadic or rural lifestyle. 72 million children are still not enrolled at all in school and of this more than half are girls. Children in the rural areas and urban slums have hardly any