Economics of Elementary Education in India

This volume discusses key aspects of the economics of the elementary education system in the poorer and educationally backward states of India, while also examining one high-achiever state-Tamil Nadu. Providing the first state-by-state analysis of major cost and financing issues, the book is based on data gathered from one of the most comprehensive surveys conducted in recent times in these states, which was specifically commissioned for this book. The survey covered 120,000 households and a thousand schools spread over 91 districts in eight states. Written by leading educational economists, the original essays in this volume - analyse the major cost and financing issues in elementary schooling in seven of the eight states surveyed-Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal; - identify recent initiatives made by the governments of these seven states; - systematically scrutinise the pattern of the public spending in elementary education; - examine enrolment in government schools and the quality of education that they impart; - study household expenditure on schooling-the costs to parents of sending children to school; and - compare government schools with private schools, showing how the private sector has began to take over the what should be the responsibility of the government, particularly in the poorer states. This volume discusses the first state-by-state analysis of major cost and financing issues, based on data gathered from one of the most comprehensive surveys conducted in recent times on the key aspects of the economics of the elementary education system in the poorer and educationally backward states of India. The surveys and analyses of the type reported in this volume help policy-makers and scholars get a better picture of the ground realities. -- www.hindustantimes.com The Economics of Elementary Education in India thrashes out key aspects of the economics of the elementary education system in the poorer and educationally backward states of India, also examining and comparing the former with the high-achiever states in terms of elementary education. -- Dawn ...given the scarcity of other recent, reliable and large-scale information on costs and finance of elementary schooling, it is a valuable resource for both policy and research audiences interested in the economics behind the failing of the elementary school systems; household demands for schooling ; public spending and external aid in India; and related issues. -- Journal of South Asian Development Drawing on regional contrasts to the problem of State finances that seems to impede the goal of UEE, the [book] offers several interesting results and ideas on the "financing aspects" of elementary education.... Arguments and analyses presented in [this volume] are amply supported through copious evidence collected from a large-scale survey covering "more than 120000 households, and 1000 schools spread across 91 districts". -- The Hindu The Economics of Elementary Education in India in India is one of the most recent detailed reports on education from India. In light of the limited availability of reliable, large-scale education data from India and from developing countries in general, this study is a welcome addition to the literature.... The extensive wealth of new information from the UNICEF survey, an excellent compilation of several existing sources of data on elementary education and education finance from India, and the insightful and scholarly analyses presented in this book make it a valuable resource. -- Comparative Education Review This book is really interesting and useful for the people in the fields of primary and elementary education, health, welfare economics, education finance and funding. It may also be useful for the NGOs, administrators, donors and multilateral agencies active in the field of education. -- Indian Educational Review The book is a very useful and timely publication. The book carries useful references for the interest of researchers. The authors deserve credit for their endevour in analysing various important dimensions of elementary education with a new approach. -- Review of Development and Change

Preface What Ails the Educationally Backward States? The Challenges of Public Finance, Private Provision and Household Costs - Santosh Mehrotra The Impasse Broken: Mapping Change in Elementary Education in Uttar Pradesh - Ravi S Srivastava Bihar: Including the Excluded and Addressing the Failures of Public Provision in Elementary Education - Anup K Karan and Pushpendra The Cost and Financing of Universalising Elementary Education: A Silver Lining in Rajasthan? - Sunil Ray Universalising Elementary Education in Madhya Pradesh: Can the Successes of Decentralised Governance Offset the Problems of Public Finance, Private Provision and Private Cost? - P R Panchamukhi Assam: The Challenge of Financing Universal Elementary Education in a Poor State - Raghabendra Chattopadhyay Cost and Financing of Elementary Education in West Bengal - Tapas Majumdar Private Costs and Public Financing of Elementary Education in a High-Achiever State: Tamil Nadu - Jandhyala B G Tilak and A M Nalla Gounden