Dr Melvil Pereira
Nagaland has reason to celebrate an achievement which is hidden in the maze of State budgetary statistics. A recently released report of a study that did the number crunching exercise through the lens of children has lauded the Govt of Nagaland for allocating adequate funds for children and thus, setting an example for other states to follow. The report titled, Budget for Children in Nagaland 2015-16, notes: “Children in Nagaland have been allocated 13.14 percent share in the Nagaland State Budget 2015-16. This is much more than the share allocated by other North Eastern States like Meghalaya (4.53 %), Assam (5.57 %) and Tripura (2.68 %). It is heartening to note that the State has allocated a substantial share of its budget for children”. The report was prepared by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, Delhi, and North Eastern Social Research Centre, Guwahati. The authors of the report observe that during the past years Nagaland has consistently allocated more funds for children than other states in Northeast India. It was 11.15 percent of the State’s budget in 2013-14 and 11.98 in 2014-15 of the State’s budget. The report appreciates the financial commitment on the part of Nagaland Government to the welfare of children.
The report states that India is among the few countries that have recognised the need of child budgeting. The former Finance Minister Mr P Chidambaram who recognised the need of showing separately the funds allocated for children. The Statement 22 of the Union Budget enumerates the financial commitment of the Union Government to children in a particular year. No State in India has emulated the example of the Union Government in showing separately the funds allocated for children. The present report invites the Government of Nagaland to set an example to the remaining states by becoming the first state to introduce child budget in Nagaland in line with the gender budget. If Nagaland has pioneered the communitisation initiative and succeeded in its implementation, it can also be the first State to introduce the concept of child budget in India.
While appreciating the Nagaland government’s commitment to children, the report also highlights the disturbing numbers that reveal the pathetic status of a section of the State’s children. It notes that despite the substantial allocation of funds for children, their condition is far from satisfactory. The school dropout rate is high in Nagaland. According to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, the dropout rate is as high as 38.5 percent at primary school level, 47.7 percent at upper primary school level and 53.6 percent at the secondary school level. There are disturbing reports in the Dailies of Nagaland of an increasing number of child labourers in towns and cities of Nagaland. A survey mentions of over 9,000 child labourers working as domestic workers. Another disturbing trend is the phenomenon of child soldiers in Nagaland. The 13 December 2015 issue of the WEEK magazine noted that there are around 500 child soldiers in Nagaland and the number seems to be increasing every year. According to the Child Rights Index of HAQ Nagaland is the worst in the area of crimes against children and by children, in proportion to its population.
How does one understand these disturbing statistics about children vis-a-vis the higher allocation of funds for them? Stated in another way, why have the financial resources set aside for children not addressed their concerns? The disaggregation of funds allocated for children by different sectors might provide some insights into their use, their implementation and impact. The report by HAQ and NESRC divided the programmes and schemes meant for children into four sectors – education, development, health and protection. The sum total of allocations made for the above sectors equal the total budget for children. The analysis of funds by sector reveals that the lion’s share or a whopping 89.70 percent of the total child budget is allocated for schemes and programmes dealing with education. Of the remaining funds, that is, 10.30 percent of the child budget, 8.55 percent is assigned to the development sector, 1.10 percent for the protection sector and a meagre 0.65 percent for the health sector. Thus the sector-wise analysis of child budget reveals uneven distribution of funds across sectors.
How does one explain the unreasonable proportion of share apportioned for education? Why should health and protection sectors get such disappointingly tiny piece of the pie? It is true that education is the most important sector and accordingly it has to be given more funds. But what is questionable is the disproportionate share allocated to it. Among the planners there is the misconception that the growth and development of children is possible when most of the money is spent on education. This is an erroneous understanding. Children benefit from education when they enjoy good health. Take for instance the extent of malnutrition and anaemia in India. According to the Census of India 2011, every second child in India is malnourished. As many as 79 percent of children in the age-group 6 to 35 months are anaemic. The effects of anaemia on children are the direst because at an age when their bodies, especially brains are fast developing, there is lack of iron supply. Research in medical science has shown that the lack of iron leads to permanent cognitive defects denying children their right to full mental and emotional development before they reach their classroom. Therefore we should ensure that our children are healthy before they step into our schools. This requires more investment in the health sector and maternal health care. The Nagaland Economic Survey 2014-15, while revealing positive growth in health indicators, notes that Nagaland is ranked the lowest in the availability of skilled personnel to aid child deliveries. This is an indicator that Govt of Nagaland has to invest more in the primary health care sector.
Thailand could be an example that Nagaland can imitate. In 1977, over 51 percent of Thailand’s children were malnourished. By the early 1990s, the child nutrition in Thailand had declined to just 17 percent. The success was attributed to the direct nutritional programmes implemented by the Thailand government. It launched large focused programmes on nutrition and allocated huge amounts of funds for them. These programmes reduced child malnutrition through a mix of interventions which included intensive growth monitoring and nutrition education on breastfeeding. Following the example of Thailand, Nagaland can increase its allocation of funds for health sector and introduce programmes that are streamlined in its efforts to improve child nutrition.
The protection sector too calls for more attention given the higher rate of crimes against children and crimes committed by children in Nagaland. As of now, the curative measures have received top-heavy attention. The emphasis is on rehabilitation of children in conflict with law. While this is important, the prevention of crimes needs to be equally stressed. A meager 1.10 percent of child budget is certainly not sufficient to provide a secure atmosphere for children to grow. An increase of funds in this sector is vital for a secure, safe and healthy growth of children.
Over 37 percent of India’s population consists of children. It is over 41 percent in Nagaland. It is imperative that the state government continues to set aside a substantial share of its budget for the welfare of children and evenly distributes it across the sectors. The health and protection sector need higher allocation in Nagaland and better monitoring of its implementation.
The author is Director, North Eastern Social Research Centre, Guwahati. He can be reached at melvilles@gmail.com
