This book focuses on the failure of elementary education since Independence, which is usually seen as the result of simplified phrases like 'lack of political will', 'because of poverty', etc. This book looks at the system as a whole: infrastructure, quality of teaching, privatisation, nutritional incentives, curriculum. It contains samples from two states namely Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

List of Tables. List of Boxes. List of Figures. List of Abbreviations. Acknowledgements1. Introduction Vimala Ramachandran and Rashmi Sharma 2. State Education Policy and Institutions Rashmi Sharma and VimalaRamachandran3. Public Expenditure in Education in Two Educationally Backward States Jandhyala B. G. Tilak 4. Glimpses from the Villages and Schools Vimala Ramachandran, Rashmi Sharma, Nagendra Nagpal, V Sudhakar andSamatha Valluri 5. The Internal Dynamic Rashmi Sharma 6. Teaching and Learning: The Practices Hriday Kant Dewan (Hardy) 7. Systemic Issues Framing Equity Vimala Ramachandran 8. Implications for the Future Rashmi Sharma andVimala Ramachandran. Bibliography and References. About the Editors. Notes on Contributors. Index

Rashmi Sharma is in the Indian Administrative Service, and as an independent scholar, has written extensively on education and decentralisation.

Vimala Ramachandran is Managing Director, Educational Resource Unit (ERU) Consultants Pvt Ltd, New Delhi.