Education and Inequality in India

"This book focuses on primary education in India and interrogates what schooling means and does to children from weaker sections of Indian society and which values underpin the school system. It examines whether the concept of "education for all" is justa mechanically conceived policy target to chasing enrolment and attendance or whether it a larger social goal and a deeper political statement about the need for attacking entrenched social inequalities, and above all an affirmation of the idea that schooling has a liberating potential. Drawing on original data collected in the two states of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the authors first present the multiple ways in which social class impinges on the educational system, educational processes and educational outcomes. In the second part of the book, issues around autonomy and accountability are explored via an analysis of the position of teachers within the educational hierarchy, and by looking at the various possibilities of making teachers accountable. The last part centres on the learning process, with a particular focus on the classroom. The conclusion includes recommendations that are related to the necessity for a larger debate and normative framework, which includes private schools as possible partners in the pursuing of a public good for which a public entity should take some responsibility, and in conjuncture to that, the necessity to move from government action and responsibilities to a broader concept of public action"-- Provided by publisher.

Manabi Majumdar is a member of the academic faculty at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, India. She has published on issues of human development and democracy.

Jos Mooij is Associate Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Netherlands. Her main research interests are the politics of public policies, policy process, food policy, education policies, decentralisation, also in the context of India.