Factors influencing household expenditure on school education in Karnataka

Abstract

Private expenditure on school education is one of the sources of education expenditure other than state and central government spending. The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act 2002, and the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 introduced a rights-based approach to free and compulsory education for all children in the age group of six to fourteen years in India. Under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, a limited number of seats are allocated for free education to economically backward sections in private and private-aided schools. Despite the free education for students in government schools and RTE admissions in private schools, parents incur considerable expenditure. With the increase in the number of private schools, there is an increasing trend in private expenditure on education in India. In this context, this paper analyses factors influencing household expenditure on school education. It is based on primary data collected at the household level in Mysuru district in both rural and urban areas through a survey. The sample consists of 192 households each from urban and rural areas selected randomly from the list available at the schools. Factors influencing the education expenditure of the households on school education were estimated through a linear regression model. Annual Household Income (AHHI), Occupational Status of Father (OSF), Location of Household (LHH), Education Level of Mother (ELM), Education Level of Father (ELF) and Type of Institution (TI) have a positive and significant relationship with total Annual Household Education Expenditure (AHHEE) of the first child in school. In the case of a second school-going child, only Annual Household Income (AHHI) and Type of Institution (TI) were found to have a significant relationship with Annual Household Education Expenditure (AHHEE).