Page 10 - Health, Population and Environment Education 9

we can study about the reproductive system, its organs, their structures and functions.
With the knowledge on reproductive system, we know about differences between males
and females. It awares people about sex hygiene and motivates people to practice healthy
sexual behaviours for happiness and satisfaction. It also provides knowledge about
population and population matters. It shows the statistics on demography, population
size, structure, density, composition, etc. Moreover, it clarifies the effects of population
growth on social-economic and environmental aspects with various ways to control
population. Like use of contraceptive devices, birth spacing, marriage at appropriate age,
gender equality, improvement of status of women, etc. Similarly, population education
has relationship with health education as well. It generates awareness on diseases, their
causes, symptoms and preventive measures. It motivates people to maintain personal
hygiene, sanitation, cleanliness, management of wastes, control of pollution, use of health
services, etc. Likewise, it provides knowledge on environment and environment related
matters. It shows the relationship between population and resources in environment.
Above all, it encourages people for sustainable use of resources as well as initiates people
to adopt scientific ways to conserve and manage the resources in environment.
Population education is very broad. It provides knowledge on health education and
environment education along with population matters. It addresses various problems
related to them. Hence, it has multidimensional approach.
Family planning education
Family life education Environment education
Population Education
Reproductive health Sex education
Demography

c. Importance of population education
We can summarize the importance of population education under the following points:
i. It gives knowledge on population size, structure, density, composition, population
situation, etc.
ii. It shows the inter-relationship between people and resources in environment.
iii. It gives ideas on effects of population growth on social, economic and environmental
aspects.
iv. It encourages people to conduct development activities in view of environment
protection.
v. It provides scientific knowledge on people regarding the control of population.
vi. It provides knowledge on early marriage and its disadvantages as well as marriage at
appropriate age and its advantages.
vii. It encourages people to maintain the family size as small as possible.
viii. It awares people about negative attitudes on various population issues.
ix. It brings change in attitudes and behaviours of people towards population matters.

10 GREEN Environment Population and Health Education Book-9