KOZHIKODE: For a state, which has been the pride of its denizens and the envy of counterparts on account of being the country’s trailblazer in virtually every area of human activity,Kerala can now boast of a statistic that puts it on the same keel as that of the developed West-- a fall in the birth rate as indicated by the birth registration data.
According to the data, the number of new births in the state fell from 5.23 lakh(2012) to 4.35 lakh (2016-- till Dec 24), registering a decrease of nearly 17 per cent.
Sociologist and author Dr N P Hafiz Mohamed sought to attribute the trend to the prevailing notion among Malayalees that fewer the number of children a family had, there was a better chance of the an improved quality life. “The ‘one child’ concept has become the norm these days.
On the other hand, the families have also become very much child-centric-- parents pay maximum attention in ensuring that their child receives the best possible education, which is why they prefer less number of children and instead focus on quality,” said Dr Hafiz, who is presently Head of the Sociology Department at the University of Calicut.