Role of public schools in education decisions in rural India

Abstract

AbstractEducation is a fundamental pillar of human development, and India's Right to Education Act 2009 established it as a basic right for children aged 5–14. Despite this, many children in rural India still struggle to access basic schooling, which affects their ability to continue their education. In this paper, we explore factors influencing school participation and continuation of children aged 5–16 years in rural India, with a specific focus on the role of having an appropriate public school within the village after the Act's implementation. An ‘appropriate school’ is defined based on the last class a child attended. Using data from the nationally representative Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER), our analysis employs a pooled cross‐section logistical model. The findings reveal that the presence of an appropriate public school in the village significantly increases the likelihood of a child attending school. This effect is particularly pronounced for girls, highlighting the importance of accessible schooling in fulfilling the Right to Education Act's objectives.The results underscore the need for policy makers to ensure the availability of appropriate public schools at all educational levels within villages, as this is crucial for enhancing school attendance and reducing dropout rates, especially among girls. Context and implications Rationale of the study: To understand how inadequate and unequal access to school infrastructure, especially the absence of government schools, explains a significant proportion of children in India not completing their schooling. Why the new findings matter: The findings strongly underscore the importance of ensuring access to a school within the village, particularly for girls. Implications: There is a need to view school education as one composite goal to enhance participation and reduce dropout rates across all levels, aligning with the Samagra Shiksha scheme's principles of equitable access to all levels of education and inclusion of disadvantaged groups. Achieving these goals requires investment in existing school infrastructure to support expansion and resource provision for higher levels of schooling. With educational spending at approximately 3% of GDP between 2010 and 2020, much lower than the 6% recommended by the National Education Policy 2020, addressing this gap presents an opportunity to improve educational outcomes nationwide.