Rural per capita expenditure on education in India
Suhit Anantula quotes from an article in The Financial Express by Onkar Goswami on a study, by him and his team at CERG Advisory, of vast amounts of rural household-level data from three rounds of National Sample Survey (NSS), and some evidence from the Census of India, 2001.
There’s been a significant increase in the real per capita expenditure on education.
In 1993-94, the average per capita spend on education in rural India was Rs 128, or 1.5% of total expenditure (total expenditure being Rs. 8,533)
By 2001-02, it was Rs 245 or 2.5% of total spending, measured in constant prices (total expenditure being Rs. 9,800).
For the top 5% of rural households, the increase in real expenditure of education has been quite spectacular – from Rs 575 in 1993-94 to Rs 1,158 per person per year (in 2001-02).
Another study (pdf) on the impact of the cost of primary education in rural India on school attendance provides some data.
This study uses a nationwide rural household level survey data collected by National Sample Survey Organization, India in its 52nd round on “Participation in Education”. The survey was conducted from July 1995 – June 1996. For details on sampling design and other related issues see National Sample Survey Organization (1998). Since we concentrate on primary schooling, we look at children in the age group 5-12, covering 46,430 children. In addition to household-specific information, the survey provides us cost information for children who go to school. For those who do not go to school the reasons for not attending school were recorded. In the data set, 16 per cent of children are from scheduled tribe households, 19 per cent from scheduled caste households and the remaining are from other social groups.
In 1995-96, the average expenditure per student pursuing primary education in rural India in a government school for students going to local body schools, private aided schools and private unaided schools were Rs 223, Rs 622 and Rs. 911 respectively (National Sample Survey Organization 1998). Educational institutions are classified according to the type of management by which the institution is run. All schools run by the state, central government, public sector undertakings or autonomous organizations completely financed by the government are treated as government institutions. All institutions run by municipal corporations, municipal committees, notified area committees, zilla parishads, panchayat samitis, cantonment boards, etc. are treated as local body institutions. Private aided institutions are those, which are run by an individual or a private organization and receive a maintenance grant from a government or local body. Private unaided institutions are managed by an individual or a private organization and do not receive a maintenance grant either from a government or local body.
The average cost in case of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households are Rs. 253.50 and Rs. 341.53, respectively. For other social groups (which includes other backward classes too) this figure is Rs. 357.39.
There exists considerable variation in the cost of education across the states of India.
Average Expenditure (Rs.) Per Student Pursuing Primary Education in Rural India in 1995-96, by State: Source: NSSO (1998)
1,863 Dadra & Nagar Haveli
1,523 Daman & Diu
1,210 Nagaland
890 Punjab
753 Meghalaya
721 Jammu & Kashmir
702 Delhi
687 Haryana
686 Sikkim
658 Kerala
639 Mizoram
635 Chandigarh
625 Manipur
623 Andaman & Nicobar Islands
550 Goa
529 Pondicherry
501 Himachal Pradesh
483 Arunachal Pradesh
456 Tripura
320 Uttar Pradesh
316 Rajasthan
267 Tamil Nadu
266 Maharashtra
245 West Bengal
234 Andhra Pradesh
230 Bihar
228 Lakshwadeep
199 Assam
199 Orissa
193 Madhya Pradesh
172 Gujarat
132 Karnataka