Having steadily raised primary enrollment rates over the past 4 decades, India now has 67 million children aged 6-10 who are attending primary school, but 28-32 million who are not. This book draws on a wide range of sources, including original analytical work by Indian researchers and others, to describe the current state of primary education in India, identify key challenges, and recommend directions for reform. Chapters: (1) provide an overview of Indian primary education; (2) explain the economic and social benefits that justify investment in primary education; (3) examine low attendance rates and widespread grade repetition in certain regions, the need to increase the supply of classrooms and teachers, possible incentives to increase school attendance, and the cost benefits of improved student flow; (4) discuss low student achievement in low-literacy rural areas, achievement gaps by gender and social class, and strategies for improving achievement; (5) explore the effects of poverty on enrollment, persistence, and achievement, as well as strategies for reducing gender, caste, and ethnic gaps in these indicators; (6) describe teacher characteristics and weaknesses, teaching conditions, and strategies for improving teacher performance; (7) examine means for improving textbook quality and the efficiency of their production; (8) discuss recent decentralization of educational governance and strategies for building managerial and institutional capacity; (9) describe educational finance at the federal and state levels; and (10) recommend financial strategies. Appendices summarize studies of school incentive programs and unit costs of elementary education and provide tables of basic education indicators for the 15 major states. Includes notes, an extensive bibliography, and many tables and figures. (SV)
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