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  • Title: Fertility level changes in India.
    Author: Sarkar BN.
    Journal: Janasamkhya; 1989 Dec; 7(2):103-19. PubMed ID: 12316273.
    Abstract:
    Survey data from India consistently show that female education above the primary school-level is the most powerful determinant of lowered fertility. The Government of India's strategies of increasing accessibility to family planning methods and improving the population's quality of life have been impeded by low levels of female education. The finding that rural women experience 0.8 more live births than their urban counterparts is a reflection of the higher education of the latter group. Within Calcutta, females in slum areas had an average of 5.6 live births compared to 3.5 births among those from nonslum parts of the city, again reflecting the influence of education on fertility. In the high-fertility states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhyapradesh, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir, the percentage of females with an education above the primary level is under 5%. The intermediate variable of education beyond primary school seems to exert its effect on fertility by both raising the age at marriage and promoting use of modern contraceptive methods. Women with 1-4 years of education comprise the majority of sterilization acceptors; however, this minimal amount of education is not sufficient to motivate women to delay marriage and to use family planning methods to space births. Given the critical importance of female education, authorities in India should design extension programs and door-to-door campaigns to motivate parents to send their daughters to school and keep them enrolled.
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