Universalisation of Elementary Education: A Study of District Primary Education Programme from South India

J. Ravindra Babu

maig del 2009 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Sobre aquest llibre

The success of the primary education system has a direct bearing on the upper primary, non-formal and adult and continuing education sectors; an efficient primary education system is expected to contribute significantly to total literacy: an appropriate rise in literacy levels improves the functioning of other systems of education. Effective delivery of primary education contributes to bettering India's HDI (Human Development Index), including our standing in the Human Development Index evolved by UNDP.

This volume is a study of the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) in one of the states of South India. It is a piece of policy evaluation research expected to contribute to the ongoing discussion of policy processes in primary schools. It specifically questions to what extent objectives such as access, retention, quality and equality are achieved by the implementation of the DPEP.

Figures from before and after the implementation of the DPEP show a significant increase in enrolment levels in primary schools all over the state. Thus, the major impact of DPEP implementation is seen in enhanced access to primary schools. The study shows that the DPEP implementation succeeded in attaining the objective of equality. This can be observed from gender equality in dropout rates at various primary grades. The DPEP seems to have achieved only moderate success in meeting the objective of retention of students. The DPEP does not seem to have approached the quality objective very seriously.

Sobre l'autor

Dr. Jala Ravindra Babu is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad. He has worked as a Research Associate in research projects sponsored by the Directorate of Elementary Education and the Adult Education Department of the government of Andhra Pradesh. His research specialisms are public policy, elementary education, and higher education. He has many publications to his credit.