India - Financing of elementary education in India in the 1990s

Abstract

This paper studies the trends in the financing of elementary education in India over the past decade. The resources required are estimated to be a real increase in expenditure of 8 percent a year for getting all 6-10 year olds into primary school in twelve years and an additional 0.7 percent of GDP per year for the next ten years to get all 6-14 year olds into school. The real increase in the government and state governments' total expenditure on elementary education was 5.3 percent a year over the period 1991-92 to 1996-97 and then rose to 5.8 percent a year when 1997-98 expenditures are taken into account. While the government of India has spent an increasing proportion of GDP on elementary education, states have collectively spent a falling proportion. The central government has taken increasingly greater responsibility for financing plan expenditures on elementary education over the decade. States vary in their commitments to elementary education. The preliminary analysis here suggests that a strong relationship between state government financing and enrollment increases exists. In general, higher growth in state government spending was correlated with higher growth in total enrolments in the states. The study also explores the role of private or household expenditure on elementary education. About 43 percent of the total cost of providing and accessing government elementary schools is spent by households.