Child Fund India

Scanning the environment for strategic interventions for youth in

Jharkhand

A concept Paper

By

Sk Mosharaf Hossain

August, 2015

Scanning the environment for strategic interventions for youth in Jharkhand

CONTEXT

There is indeed a buzz about youths in India and its getting louder. Policy makers, researchers, demographers,

academicians- all are in consonance with importance of historic transition of Indian demography as population in

India is expected to cross 1.3 billion by 2020 with median age of just 28 years1. Biggest resources to propel India’s

growth in coming future are its 600 million youth. Here India stands on strong footing with its youth mass and

envisages outperforming other countries by exploring latent youth power. Significant economic contribution is also

expected from this critical segment of population, provided an enabling and conducive environment for them is in

place.

Before we make any effort in channelizing youth power to nation building we must understand youth- their status,

issues, concerns, hope and aspiration. Youths, who are potentially growth engine driver, are not much concerned and

not in realization of their inherent potential and nation’s progress thru their optimum contribution. So drafting any

strategy without touching youth voice will not bring any desired results. Therefore it presses the need of travelling

extra mile in reaching to youth, striking a chord with them, understanding their words and silence, what they dream

of, what they aspire to be, what stall their progress, what come their way and impede attainment of larger goal of

life, what is important and what is urgent for them in making rightful place for them.

In the run up to capture and record youth voice we, thru well-rounded exercise, reached out to youths, had multi-

round discussions with them, pinpointed their perspectives, consulted relevant stakeholders, reviewed secondary

sources of information and came up with a guiding document that outlines youth issues and their prioritization.

ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

The whole analytical exercise was undertaken in a framework where few rounds of interaction with youth club

members threw light on current status of youth, range of issues they are confronted with and underlying

causes/barrier to change the status quo. The whole lot of issues then categorized under different thematic areas and

prioritized by youth themselves. Then list of synthesized issues was validated with findings from other authenticated

secondary sources and community reflection reports of previous years. People and staffs from prominent NGOs

working on the ground were also consulted to enrich this document and making it all-encompassed.

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

1 Youth Policy of India, 2014

•Participatory consultation with youth

• Individual interaction with select youth

Learnings from Youths

•Desk review of ASPs and PDDs

•Categorization of issues under thematic area.

•Consultation with LS staffs and ground staffs

Allignment with

secondary documents

• Issues synthesis and priorotization

•Refort drafting

Compilation and

documentation

Youth issues recorded have further been grouped under four thematic areas viz Higher Education, Reproductive

and Sexual Health, Livable Livelihood and Youth Protection. Under each thematic area specific issues have been

put together and thus it lets to work on particular domain systematically and logically. Following section will

provide key insight in dealing with issue based intervention strategy.

THEMATIC ISSUES IDENTIFIED

Higher Education

88% youths drop out

before matriculation.

Merely 1.3 % youths

completed graduation

Only 47% adolescents

manage to pass X th

grade; failed and low

scoring children do

not show interested

in higher education.

Average distance to

college from home is

20 Kms and it is huge

deterrent to girls in

particular in attending

schools.

“We are destined to

be daily wage

laborers”-this age old

attitude prevent

youths from dreaming

a better tomorrow.

Demand for higher

education has not

been created in

community owing to

unemployment or less

opportunities post

qualification.

Parents are not

ready/incapable to

bear minimal cost of

higher education

Acute need to

supplement family in

come prevent youths

from seeking

opportunities thru

higher education

Reproductive and

Sexual Health Livable Livelihood Youth Protection and

participation

Median age at

marriage is 17 years

for girls, 19 years for

boys.

Usage of modern

contraceptives among

youth (married and

unmarried) is just

17%.

61% married girls

experience first

pregnancy within a

year of marriage.

79% girls are found to

be anemic and do not

take any iron

supplement.

Increased incidence of

STI/RTI as reported

from blocks and

district hospitals

majorly due to unsafe

and unprotected sex

Stigma, myths and

misconception in

community about

adolescents’ health.

Little or no provision

at block and district

hospitals to screen

and treat detected

sexual health issues of

youths.

There is indeed

dearth of promotive

and protective

services available thru

Govt. run health care

facilities

Majority of youth

population (64%) are

engaged in menial

works.

38% youth migrate to

cities and other states

only to land up in

exploitative

migration.

Size of landholding is

very small; it coupled

with lack of irrigation

facilities make

agriculture non

profitable.

There is very little

scope in the area to

disseminate modern

technical know-how

among youth farmers.

Only 1.1% youths are

receiving any market

based training on

some trades

(Vocational training).

Therefore youths

remain under skilled.

Merely 11% youths

have a bank account

and need to face

hassles in taking a

loan to start any

livelihood enterprise.

Literally there is

neither provision nor

encouragement for

youth to develop

entrepreneurship.

Youths without life-skill

and adequate

knowledge are at high

risk of RTI/STI.

82% of total youths do

take some form of

alcohols, narcotics,

toxic petroleum,

tobacco etc.

38% migrant youths are

prone to unsafe sex.

Girls are vulnerable to

sexual exploitation.

42% of youth

population belongs to

SC, ST and other

primitive tribal groups

and it leads to social

and economic

exclusion.

Entitlements of welfare

schemes are not

rightfully accessed by

youths in lowest strata

of community

There are hardly any

civil society

organizations,

dedicatedly promoting

youth rights and

development.

Gender, cast and

income based

discrimination of

youths.

Less educated

youth

With poor sexual and

reproductive health

Do not find adequate

earning opportunities

Feel excluded

and unprotected

The aforementioned issues are multidimensional and complex in nature and compounded by many other sub issues.

So one needs to perceive an issue with deep insight before any effort is made in designing any issue redressal

mechanism. For example poor sexual and reproductive health is, many ways, is correlated with little scope of youth

for higher education. These two issues when combined together lower the chance of youth in getting gainful earning

opportunities. The issue of youth protection and participation is both consequence and cause for other three issues.

So none of the identified issue should be dealt in isolation; so dimension, nature and interconnectedness are to be

critically looked into in a bid to ameliorate youth status effectively.

INTERGENERATIONAL YOUTH POVERTY

In the process of youth consultation and community reflection along with other relevant stakeholders it was revealed

that there exists a vicious and intergenerational clutch of poverty cycle—quite difficult for youth to come out from.

When the issue of youth underdevelopment or youth poverty is drilled down analytically; mainly three elements

revolve around always—Low level of formal education, Inadequate opportunities for livelihood and youth health for

better productivity.

Unhealthy youth with low formal education and

life skill

Low income generating

capacity of youth

Poor youths are not much concerned

about child's education and health

Children drop out and at risk of unhealthy life

style

ISSUES PRIORITIZATION

Faces of youth poverty Prioritized Issues

Youths do not attain higher education 1. School dropout, 2. Need to supplement family Income, 3.

Parents’ low importance to education 4. Distant

schools/colleges 5. Employment avenue post higher

education is less.

Narrow scope for livelihood generating activities

1. Youth are not trained and linked to market based

trades/jobs. 2. Financial constraints and lack of mentorship to develop entrepreneurship 3. Little provision for adopting

modern agriculture practices. 4. Negligible efforts from

department/agencies in creating adequate livelihood avenues

for youths

Poor sexual and reproductive health

1. Youths are not oriented on life skill, 2. Peer pressure on

youths to be trapped in risky sexual and unhealthy behavior

3. Inadequate counselling thru health facilities/worker in

promoting preventive and curative measures of reproductive

and sexual health issues.

Unprotected and excluded youth

Addiction of tobacco and narcotic substances, 2. Gender,

cast and income based exclusion in mainstream community

development, 3. Youths lack enthusiasm for civic

engagement.

VISION STATEMENT BY YOUTH AT PALAMU DISTRICT

.

“We envision having a village where every youth attains education at least up to 12th

standard, avails

opportunities of job/trade based training, earn sufficient income for family and accumulate knowledge and

information about youth health, rights and provisions and join together in community development

endeavor”