Sustainable Development of a nation is directly proportional to the success of its health and education systems. More so with a developing country like India, where three-fourth of its population resides in its villages, majority of them with very little or no excess to proper education. The goal of providing universal primary education for its children has yet to be fulfilled in the case of India, even after 50 years of attaining independence.

‘Elementary Education in Rural India: A Grassroots View’, a new book by Sage Publications, enhances upon the complexities of issues which are vital in terms of evolving a more comprehensive and equitable basic education system. Edited by Dr. A.Vaidyanathan and Dr. P.R. Gopinathan Nair, this unique volume constitutes one of a series presenting the results of the National Research Project on Social Sector Strategies and Financing for Development in India. The accent of the project was on encouragement of micro-level studies with a view to gaining insights into location-specific factors of human development. The book puts together the findings of studies on participation in and performance of elementary education covering nine major states of India.

Eradication of poverty and illiteracy is no more than a political rhetoric even in this jet age. Governments, both at the centre and in the states, have not pursued this objective seriously. The goal still remains elusive. The idea of making elementary education legally compulsory for all children has not evoked much response. Though some states have enacted the necessary legislation but none has exerted itself to get the law enforced.

The lack of resources, no doubt, is one of the vital factors. But, the phenomenon of wide and persistent differences in the spread of education across both regions and social groups is also an equally important sphere that is still unclear. The book unfolds this neglected dimension by exploring the nature and extent of these disparities in educational participation and performance on the basis of detailed village-level investigations.

The household surveys (which covered 95 villages spread over nine states) confirm the findings from macro data that there are persistent differences in literacy between males and females and among social groups. They also confirm that literacy rate variations across space and between gender and caste groups are highly correlated; and that higher overall literacy goes with lower disparities between these groups. A sizable proportion of households does not have children in the school-going age group.

Statistics reveal that in general, and except in high literacy areas like Kerala and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu, caste, parents’ occupation and education, educational attainments of adults, economic status, the sex of the child and access to school are significant factors affecting enrolment. In the multivariate analyses, the coefficients of these variables have in most cases the expected signs and are statistically significant.

The book provides an in-depth understanding of the prevailing educational scenario in India. It examines the ways in which caste and community, economic status, parental attitudes and the cost of education affect the enrolment and dropout behaviour of boys and girls and of different social groups, They show how the impact of these factors varies within regions, or even between comparable situations. The existence of pockets of chronic educational backwardness, the role of private schools in elementary education, and problems relating to school functioning and teacher performance in government schools are also explored in detail.

On the whole, the book reveals that the government’s role in facilitating access to education is crucial, socio-economic factors and public attitudes to education are equally important and significantly influence the implementation and impact of policy in different areas.

All in all, this volume will be of interest to students and researchers in the field of education, as well as administrators, activists and policy makers concerned with education and development. q