Understanding the Relationship Between Education and Health in India

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Introduction

Education and health are two essential sectors that can play an important role in determining any region’s social development. Education provided during the first few years of a child's life plays an important role in the growth and development of children and allows them to live healthier and productive lives.

The benefits attained from primary education expand beyond individuals who receive schooling directly. Other members of the society also gain through externalities (Pradhan and Subramanian, 1999). Regardless of various initiatives through universalization of primary education, the number of people who are illiterate from ages seven and above increased from 360 million in 1981 to 381 million in 1991 in India according to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) statistics.

This paper focuses on health as a factor of school outcome and education as a determinant of good health. In India, health as a subject is not given much importance to be considered as a vital component of educational outcome, although it has been observed that health status, specifically malnutrition, is a key variable that affects child’s development. Several economists argue that malnutrition causes deficiencies in intellectual development in later years of life. Additionally, it is investigated in this paper how child’s characteristics such as aptitude, motivation and enthusiasm can be negatively impacted by poor nutritional status.

An attempt has been made in this paper to explore the interconnectedness between education and health in India. Proper education is mandatory for utilizing healthcare services in an optimal way. Efforts are made over the years to improve adult and female literacy rates beca...

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