Education in India

Upcoming book: The Economics of Elementary Education in India's Poorer States

An upcoming book looks to be very interesting. Something to look out for in December.

The Economics of Elementary Education in India's Poorer States
Public Finance, Private Provision and Household Costs

Edited by: Santosh Mehrotra UNDP Human Development Report Office, New York, USA

Publisher: Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd   Pub Date: 12/2005   Pages: 290

From the description on the publisher's site:

This volume examines key aspects of the elementary education system, with a focus on issues related to cost and financing in the poorer and educationally backward states of India. Taken together, the original content of this book provides:

• a systematic analysis of the pattern of public spending in education at the state level;
• a comparison of government schools with private schools in each of the states studied to establish how the private sector has grown to take over the work of government agencies, particularly in the poorer states;
• revealing statistics based on a recent state-level survey of various aspects of elementary education.

The findings are used by the contributors as a jump-off point for analyzing recent changes in access, quality and retention in elementary schools, with regard to the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Book Review; Caste, Class and Education: Politics of the Capitation Fee Phenomenon in Karnataka

Title: Caste, Class And Education : Politics Of The Capitation Fee Phenomenon In Karnataka;
Author: Kaul, Rekha;
ISBN: 0803994729
Publisher: Sage Publications
Published: 1993
List Price : Rs.    520.00   (Special Indian Price)

The book by Rekha Kaul of Delhi University is available online from Firstandsecond.com. Excerpts from a review of the book are provided below.

The book is divided into eight chapters. The first two chapters deal with the historical aspects of the establishment of private colleges and the emergence of the phenomenon of capitation fee.

The most interesting chapters are three and four which discuss the growth of the capitation fee phenomenon and the government policy towards such colleges. To gain political influence, governments of Karnataka irrespective of political ideologies encouraged the establishment of private colleges mainly motivated by profit, by organizations and individuals.

Chapter Six discusses the role of management, while Chapters Six and Seven deal with the impact of these colleges on students and the faculty.

In conclusion, the author suggested some specific measures to improve the quality of education in the private colleges. Some of them like sponsorship of students by industries and opportunity to work there during their education are useful. However, the hope of the author is, "but once the demand for quality education is widespread there would be checks on such private colleges."

The book is well researched. Every one interested in good quality education in India should read this book, exposing the evils of so-called educational institutions undermining the future of India's economic and social potential.

Books on education in India - published by Vedam Books

Vedam Books, a New Delhi-based publisher, has published a wide variety of books on education in India.

According to their web site one can order books online through their site. But currently, their link to the shopping cart doesn't see to work - it leads not to a shopping cart, but back to their main education page.

They also claim to offer free airmail shipping - "We send all books via registered airmail postage to any part of the world. We do not charge extra for shipping, packing or book handling."