& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Income disparity, job big hurdles ahead

Says S Asia human development report

Staff Correspondent
Increasing inequality in people's income, widespread unemployment and underemployment and proper utilisation of available resources are the challenges to achieving the country's socioeconomic goals despite consistent economic growth during 1995-2005.
A report on human development in South Asia reveals that the number of the poor rose during the decade while health and education still remain areas of concern in the region.
The other areas of concern underlined by the study include agrarian crisis, social exclusion, gender gap, slow growth of agriculture and slow progress towards humane governance in political, economic and civil spheres.
The "Human development in South Asia 2007: A ten-year review" prepared by Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre was presented yesterday at a discussion at the Brae Centre Inn auditorium.
Dr MK Mujeri, chief economist of Bangladesh Bank, presented the report at a launching ceremony jointly organised by Brae and BRAC Development Institute.
The report points out some challenges for Bangladesh including rural-urban variation, quality of education and equitable participation.
Speakers at the discussion underlined the necessity of policy-driven social changes rather than
FROM PAGE 16
fragmented initiatives for a sustainable development and economy.
They observed that real development would not take place unless the poor are made owners of land and other factors of production which propel development and also unless a uniform quality education isensured.
"The only way to ensure real development Is to get poor people to participate in the growth process. We cannot create a sustainable democratic society either without democratisation of all the processes to ensure people’s participation at all levels," said Prof Rehman Sobhan, chairman of Centre for Policy Dialogue, while presiding over the function.
Education and Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman said, "The government's focus in the education sector has been on primary education. But primary education is not complete education.
"The process of social change should be driven by policy rather than initiatives because the latter cannot take us much far," he said, adding, "From fragmented activity we must develop to a holistic ambition."
An overview of the study mentions that the recent economic growth is concentrated mainly in service sector in urban areas benefiting the urban middle class while rural poverty has increased in many South Asian countries and income inequality is on the rise.
As many are still poor and facing food insecurity in Bangladesh, poverty reduction does not necessarily translate into less hunger and proper nutrition, according to the study.
It says of the 2 million unemployed persons 1.2 million are youths, most of them educated and deprived because of the mismatch between supply and demand in the labour market.
"Slow growth in agriculture has affected food security in many countries in the region while the employment scenario is complicated," said Dr MK Mujeri, adding
that the unemployment index jumped to 8.5 in 2005 from 2.8 in 1995 in the region.
Brae Executive Director Mahabub Hossain said, "The manufacturing sector is not growing at a rate it does outside the region. Agriculture productivity is not also growing. Coverage of education has increased but the quality of education is a matter of concern."
The speakers also stressed that appointment of teachers at public universities be made on the basis of merit and quality.
Brae Chairperson Fazle Hasan Abed said, "We have not been able to provide quality education. A uniform system, its management and development is necessary to ensure education."
The overview mentions that despite improvement in overall literacy rate, the region with around 379 million illiterate adults continues to be the most illiterate region on the globe. India and Pakistan have the highest number of out-of-school children in the world.
The study found decrease in mortality rate of infant and under-five children while life expectancy has improved. But rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, malnourishment, low sanitation coverage, and emerging threat of HIV/AIDS remain areas of concern in the region.
Dr Syed Hashemi, director of BRAC Development Institute, Dr Khadiza Haq, director of Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre, Prof A Sattar Mandal of Bangladesh Agriculture University, its board member M Syeduzzaman, and economics Professor MM Akash of Dhaka University participated in the discussion.