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The Twisted Tryst: Some Reflections on Inclusion and Quality in the Public Provisioning of Elementary Education in India |
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Praveen Jha and Pooja Parvati |
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The role of education as a key driver of a nation’s well-being, both social and economic, is well-acknowledged. Public policy discourses in recent years have shown increased recognition of the critical importance of education in a nation’s well-being. The present article examines critical issues relating to the attainment of human development through the public provisioning of equitable, inclusive and quality education, particularly at the elementary level, and the impediments therein. This is attempted by assessing the country’s profile with regard to its performance on specific educational outcomes, and by examining key aspects related to infrastructure and issues related to public financing, at the level of elementary education in India. Herein, glaring gaps with regard to ensuring uniform, compulsory and quality education to children belonging to diverse sections and groups through the provisions of the soon-to-be-enacted Right to Education Bill, 2008 are also dwelt upon. The authors find that while continued commitments have been made to universalize elementary education, these efforts have been few and far between. It is held that apart from addressing the concerns of access and quality, the long-term solution lies in facilitating increased and sustained public provisioning for education, to provide for the much-needed basic infrastructural support, among other things |
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