Education and its Impact on Social Change in Punjab

Abstract

Significance of education in the development process has been well recognized by the educational planners, economists and development planners the world over. Based on empirical evidences of connection between education and socio-economic development, this paper posits that education is instrumental in the socio-economic development. Specifically, this paper examines the impact of educational progress on fertility rate, population growth rate, child/infant mortality rate, life expectancy, gender disparity, poverty of the state. The analysis is based on information of the entire state on various variables such as literacy rate, enrolment, per capita income, fertility rate, population growth rate, incidence of poverty, etc. gathered from the secondary sources from 1966 onward. To sort out the strength and direction of relationships between education and various components of social developments, data have been analyzed by employing simple regression models.

The findings show that female education at all levels has been found to be highly significant in lowering infant mortality. Male and female life expectancy at birth and at specific ages have been found to be positively related with enrolment at different educational levels.

In line with the research conducted in different parts of the world, this study also confirms that increased female education at all the stages (i.e. primary, elementary, secondary and for all education levels put together) consistently lowers fertility rates.

 Our regression results show positive relationship between the progress of education at different stages and the gender disparity in infant mortality. Further, The poverty reduction effect of education has been confirmed from the inverse relationship of the educational progress at different stages of schooling with the incidence of deprivation (poverty).