India. Voices for future. National and state level prizewinning essays of the First All India Essay Competition on Population Education.

The effects of overpopulation on the environment and quality of life are examined in 24 prize-winning essays by children participating in Indias 1st national and state-level competition on population education. The essays point out that rapid population growth has increased major forms of environmental pollution. They also argue that overpopulation has resulted in increased unemployment poverty crime and other societal ills. As educational facilities and resources have failed to keep pace with population costs have increased to the point where education has become a luxury many families cannot afford. Teachers in overcrowded classrooms are now unable to devote sufficient attention to their students individual needs. As slums develop to accommodate the increasing number of the poor overcrowding and poor sanitation and hygiene lead to an increase in preventable infectious diseases. The children stress the need for educational programs both on family planning and on the ill effects of overpopulation. They also call for such legal reforms as an increase in the minimum age at which Indian men and women can marry.