A Political Economy of Education in India: The Case of Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

The effectiveness of the arrangements governing an educational system depends on the motivations of key actors. This paper analyses the state of education in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and the role that teachers have played in the political process. It describes how teachers have become embedded in the political system and the way teacher associations and unions have actively pursued demands through various strikes and other forms of action. Although teachers have been successful in improving pay, job security and service benefits, less progress has been made on broader improvements in the schooling system such as the promotion of education in general or improving equity and efficiency in the system.

Dalit Revolution? New Politicians in Uttar Pradesh, India

“…Since that time, neoliberal economic reforms have undermined government educational provision (Mooij and Dev 2002). With the exception of a small number of elite colleges, government educational institutions typically lack teaching aids and equipment, catering facilities, and basic amenities (Jeffery, Jeffery, and Jeffrey 2005;Kingdon and Muzammil 2003). Moreover, the midday meal scheme designed to reduce the number of dropouts and increase school enrollment has been a widespread failure in the state (Hasan 2001).…”

Introduction: A Regional Overview

“…Although proposals to reform teacher training, decentralize, reform the curriculum, use contract teachers, and provide midday meals are widely debated, there is often little application of lessons learned in other parts of the world (Kingdon and Muzammil 2009). 2 The main objective of this study is to review learning outcomes for both primary and secondary students in the region and identify good practices and policy options for sustainably improving those outcomes.…”

Solutions to Teacher Absenteeism in Rural Government Primary Schools in India: A Comparison of Management Approaches~!2009-06-19~!2010-03-19~!2010-07-08~!

“…Given the normal public service conditions and the power of teacher unions, it is unlikely that payment to regular teachers in government schools will move towards a performance-based salary structure. Penalizing teachers for their absence by withholding their allowances or even suspension is possible, but difficult in practice -again because teacher unions are strong and politically influential [22] (Kingdon and Muzammil 2001) [23].…”