Female Literacy

Primary education has made impressive strides in Himachal Pradesh. These have been due to investments made in the sector, the relatively less iniquitous social structure in rural areas and greater opportunities available to women. However, the increased attraction of private schools offers new challenges to government-run schools, where processes directed at improving the quality of education are yet to take root.

This article, based on a desk review of the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and qualitative micro studies in six states - Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu - attempts to capture the impact of primary education programmes on the ground. Introducing the emergent concept of 'hierarchies of access' to describe the new segregation occurring in primary education, the article focuses on the micro studies documenting the tangible and intangible dimensions of gender and social equity that frame the implementation of DPEP at the village and panchayat level. On the basis of the findings of the desk review and the micro studies, the authors discuss ways to reverse the trend of segregation so as to make universal primary education a substantive reality.