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Kathmandu Tuesday May 01, 2001 Baishakh 18, 2058.
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For
accurate census
The census, no matter how seriously it has
been taken by successive governments for developmental purposes, is the exercise of a
constitutional provision conducted every ten years. The first census in the country dates
back to 1911, almost a century ago. However, the way we have conducted every census since
then shows that it still lacks a systematic approach for reaching the entire population.
This is one of the reasons why governments have failed to regulate the population
explosion and to introduce effective measures for socio-economic development. The majority
of our population still lives under acute poverty and there has not been any appreciable
change in their lot.
Census 2001 begins on June 8, and ends by the
20th of that month. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) responsible for conducting
every census in the country has used a de jure rather than de facto method. It counts even
foreign nationals who have been staying here for some time but does not include diplomats
and tourists. The general sample used for counting both urban and rural population do not
specify particulars other than religion, occupation and number of dependants. However, the
household sample goes into detail. To conduct the census, the CBS has deputed five
thousand supervisors who are secondary teachers by occupation. And the 20,000 enumerators
selected from among primary level teachers include 20 percent women. Perhaps the inclusion
of women was with a view to empower them. How accurately will the CBS be able to conduct
Census 2001? Has it realized that five percent of the population was left out in the last
census? Why has there been delay in the necessary publicity work? What mediums has it used
to create popular awareness of the census? How will it conduct the census in the
Maoist-affected areas if any untoward incidents occur? These are a few questions which
still remain unanswered. There are also complaints that the minorities have not been
properly enumerated in the past. These complaints should be addressed both through better
care and caution, by designing effective questionnaires and by including more enumerators
from the minority communities.
In 1991 head count, the CBS left out five
percent of the population due to lack of follow-up and publicity measures, besides factors
such as rugged terrain and poor communications. The CBS did not properly train the census
takers on how they should cover the remote and inaccessible regions of the country. Thus
the total population of the country turned out to be more than what the CBS made public.
Such a projection of inaccurate data not only undermines decision-making in development
planning but also affects long term strategies. The country is passing through a
population explosion. The size of the population has become larger than what can be
sustained with the existing level of development. The CBS must not take the census of 2001
as merely an exercise of a constitutional provision. It has to train its personnel well in
the methods of conducting a census and conduct it in such a way that as few people as
possible are left out and there are as few complaints as possible afterwards. For this it
has to use new and scientific tools for publicity.
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