Education

UNIT 1 EDUCATION

Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Importance and Benefits of Education for Development
1.3 Theories of the Contribution of Education to Development
1.4 Determinants of Educational Development
1.5 Problems and Challenges of Educational Development
1.6 Emerging Issues in Education and Development
1.7 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Keywords
1.9 References and Suggested Reading
1.10 Check Your Progress - Possible Answers

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Education, whether formal, informal and/or non formal, through change in
knowledge, behaviour and practices, brings development. Education is an
investment which brings development in the long run. According to Amartya
Sen, the solution to all problems related to the economy, development, or
population lies in education. This unit discusses the importance of education
towards development. The various determinants of education such as literacy,
expenditure on education, technical education, etc., affect the educational
development of a nation. Still, education, mostly in underdeveloped countries,
is faced with a lot of problems. The globalization and education, inclusive
education, sustainable education and emerging issues in education and
development. Education is also an important tool for empowerment.
After going through this unit, you would be able to
• discuss the importance of education for development
• explain the benefits of education to development
• narrate determinants of educational development
• describe emerging issues in education and development.

1.2 IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF

EDUCATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Like a lay man, you would know how an educated man is different from an
uneducated man. Similarly, an educationally advanced state like Kerala, is
different from educationally backward states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Education is one of the important factors of development. The role of education
in development has been recognized ever since the days of Plato, who believed
that education, was indispensable to the economic health of a good society. The
contribution of ‘human capital’ to economics was recognized long ago when
Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations includes in the category, ‘Fixed Capital’,
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Sectoral Issues in the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants, or members of society.
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Alfred Marshall also affirmed that the most valuable of all capital that is invested
is in human beings. J.K. Galbraith also remarked that “when we think of education
as a consumer service, it becomes something on which we should save, but
when we think of education as investment, it becomes something, we should
emphasize”. He considered that human capital is more essential for developing
countries than other forms of capital. According to Tadaro, it is the human
resources that ultimately determine the character and pace of its economic and
social development. Harbinson remarks that a country which is unable to develop
the skills and knowledge of its people to utilize them effectively in the national
economy will be unable to develop anything else. The general conference of
UNESCO held way back in 1964 recognized that illiteracy is a grave obstacle to
social and economic development. Education is a prerequisite for the successful
implementation of national plans for economic and social development.

Informal

Change in
Education Formal Empowerment Behaviour Development
and
Practice

Non Formal

Fig. 1.1 : Model of Education & Development

Education, whether formal, informal and /or non formal, effects changes in
behaviour and practices and brings development. The informal education on
development can be defined as a life long learning process by which every person
acquires knowledge, skills, and attitude from daily experiences at home, at work,
at play, and from life itself. Formal education is the education received from the
educational institutes chronologically graded and hierarchic such as primary,
secondary and tertiary education level. Non formal education is a type of organized
and systematic educational activity taking place outside the framework of the
formal system. A model of how education brings development is given in Figure
1.1.

1.2.1 Benefits of Education Towards Development

Development benefits a great deal from education. A few benefits of education
from development are outlined below.

i) Increases Productivity
Investment in physical capital stock such as land and machinery is essential
but not sufficient for development. Investment in human capital would
6 enhance productivity. It has been adequately researched that two individuals,
 given the same physical capital but endowed with different levels of Education
knowledge would operate in two different production functions and would
have two different levels of productivity. Thus, education is vital for raising
productivity. One reason for the Green Revolution in Punjab and Haryana is
extension education imparted to the farmers in their field. By raising
productivity both in agriculture and industries, education promotes economic
growth. One of the World Bank’s study (1993) found that enrolment in
primary education in 1960 enabled the countries like Hong Kong, Thailand,
Singapore, and South Korea to raise their economic growth by more than 50
per cent (see Table 1.1).

Table 1.1 : Percentage of Total Predicted Growth of Selected Countries

Countries % of Predicted Growth
Hong Kong 86
Indonesia 79
Japan 58
South Korea 67
Malaysia 73
Taiwan 69
Singapore 75
Thailand 87
Source: Cypher M James and Dietz, James L (2009) The Process of Economic Development,
Routledge, London, pp. 406

ii) Reduces Economic Inequality

Education provides widespread employment and income earning
opportunities to the qualified and skilled people. There is a positive correlation
between a person’s education and his earning. Education is a powerful tool
for the poor and the disadvantaged to raise their earning and come to par
with their counterparts. Todaro says that if, for financial or any other reasons,
the poor are effectively denied access to secondary and higher educational
opportunities, then the educational system can actually perpetuate and even
increase inequality in Third World Nations. However, recent studies have
demonstrated that the education system of most developing countries act to
increase rather than to decrease income inequalities. But, generally it is found
that in developing countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka education has
enabled the poor and the downtrodden to raise their income. Education helps
in poverty reduction.

iii) Improves Health and Reduces Fertility

Education is a contributing factor in achieving developmental goals, such as
increased life expectancy, improves health, and reduces fertility among
educated mothers. Many studies have shown that parents with high school
and higher education have fewer children compared to their counterpart who
are illiterate. It has also been seen that fertility reduces with the increase in
the level of education. Education improves particularly the preventive health
care status of women and children. It enables them to access quality health
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Sectoral Issues in care services from qualified health personnel for themselves and for their
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children. Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where female literacy is higher than in
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, have lower fertility, lower infant mortality, higher
immunization status of woman and children. Life expectancy in Kerala and
Tamil Nadu is also higher, compared to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. An example
of female literacy and fertility is given in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2: Female Education and Health Indicators of a Few States of India

S. Indicators State
No. Bihar UP Kerala Tamil Nadu
1 Female Literacy 33.6 43 88 64.55
2 Infant Mortality 62 73 15 31
3 Percentage of children under 58 47 29 33
age 3 who are under weight
4 Percentage of children 12-23 33 23 75 81
month who have received all
vaccinations
5 Total Fertility Rate 4.0 3.8 1.69 1.8

Source: 1. National Family Health Survey III, IIPS, 2005-06

2. Census of India, 2001

iv) Contributes to Democratization

Some political scientist believes that at least a minimum level of schooling
is a prerequisite for the effectiveness of political democracy. Education
strengthens democratic values in a society. It helps the people to caste their
vote according to values and not the allurement offered by the contestants.
Education, in general, and, of women in particular, is a vital requirement for
the success of democracy. It is now believed that the success of democratic
decentralization depends on the literacy rate. In India, Kerala is an illustrious
example where a high literacy rate has enabled local self government
institutions to function effectively in the state.

v) Promotes Rural Development

Educated people are sine qua non for the faster development of rural areas.
Therefore, Mahatma Gandhi once said my ‘Ideal Village’ will contain
intelligent human being. Educated people would bring faster agricultural,
industrial, and social development in rural areas. Education can bring
transparency and accountability into the system. There would be better
implementation of rural development programmes as literate people could
better ask the programme implementers the pros and cons of the programmes.
They would actively participate in the process of need assessment, project
formulation, implementation; monitoring and evaluation stages of the various
developmental programmes implemented, both by the government and non
governmental organizations. Rural entrepreneurship could be better promoted
with the help of literate and skilled manpower. An educated civil society is
an essential requirement for development in general, and for rural
development in particular.
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vi) Promotes Peace and Stability Education

Education promotes peace in society. The teaching of peace and the value
education in the classroom would create a sense of fellow feeling and
brotherhood among the young generation. Peace education has become either
an independent discipline or component of other related discipline like
political science or history in many higher education institutions. Further,
peace education would also reduce crime and all other social evils occurring
in the society.

vii) Reduces Social Inequality and Promotes Gender Equity

Education is an instrument for social uplift. Illiteracy is one of the reasons
for social discrimination. The social inequality persists largely because of
illiteracy. With the rise in the level of education biases on the basis of social
beliefs and values reduces. B.R. Ambedkar, therefore, mentions that the
panacea for all social evil is education and encouraged people to be educated.
Education, particularly, among women, promotes gender equality by
enhancing their workforce participation rate vis-a-vis men. The Education
Commission of India (1964-66) has highlighted, in Chapter IV (Towards
Equalization of Educational Opportunities) that “One of the important social
objectives of education is to equalize educational opportunities, enabling
the backward or under-privileged classes and individuals to use education
as a lever for improvement of their condition”

viii) Promotes Modernization

Modernization is directly linked to the pace of education development. One
of the sure ways to modernize quickly is to expand education and produce
skilled manpower. The Education Commission of India (1964-66) envisaged
that modernization aims, amongst other things, at creating an economy of
plenty which will offer to energise an individual, provide a larger way of life
and a wider variety of choices. It is education, which can hasten the pace of
modernization and development in an underdeveloped society. Modern
society is governed by science and technology, and it is education which
will enable a nation to achieve progress through scientific technology. The
ICT education in India has hastened the process of modernization and
development.

ix) Attributes to Knowledge Society

The establishment of a knowledge society is a formidable challenge before
any nation in order to hasten its pace of development in economic, social,
political, and cultural areas. The formulation of the Knowledge Commission
in India is a significant step in this direction. The dream of a knowledge
society can only be realized by articulating a strong and dynamic higher
education system.

In this section, we discussed about the importance and contribution of education

to development. Now, answer a few questions related to these aspects in Check
Your Progress 1.

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Sectoral Issues in Check Your Progress 1
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Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.
b) Check your answer with possible answers given at the end of the unit
1) Briefly describe the importance of education to development.
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2) Can education can promote modernization and social equity. Discuss.
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1.3 THEORIES OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF

EDUCATION TO DEVELOPMENT
In this section we will discuss a few theories relating to the contribution of
education towards development. Mainly, there are two theories relating to the
contribution of education to development. These two theories are
i) Human capital theory
ii) Screening theory.

1.3.1 Human Capital Theory

Human capital theory was initially developed in United States and Europe in the
1950s. Later, this theory was applied to undeveloped countries. The advocates
of this theory were of the opinion that it is not only the physical capital stock,
i.e., labour, which is important, but also human capital stock, such as education,
which is critical to the growth and development of a nation. They argued that
when people become more and more educated, they become more productive.
There is a close relationship between the number of years of schooling and income
level of a person. In other words, increasing the level of schooling would lead to
higher earnings. In essence, the human capital theory believes that people are
willing to invest in education, which is an investment for the future. In other
words, the human capital theory considers expenditure on education as an
investment and not as expenditure. Not only the individual, but also the whole
society would gain out of investment in education. Besides, the country will
gain from the external effect of education, i.e., lower fertility rate and higher
maternal and child health. Such positive external effects are a justification for
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public subsidies to education. Therefore, in almost all countries, both developed Education
as well as developing, the cost of education is subsidized by the government.

Another aspect of human capital theory is that, it provides a framework for the
systematic evaluation of costs and benefits of education to the households.

i) Cost of Education: The cost of education includes direct cost, and

opportunity cost:

Direct cost, are school fees, cost of books, teaching materials, school
uniforms, copies, etc. Opportunity cost is the income forgone while receiving
education. Besides, it also refers to the income that an individual is losing
from the labour market during the period he joins education institutions
and, at the same time, bears the cost of education.

ii) Benefit of Education: The benefit of education is the gap between the
lifetime income of an individual with a given amount of education and the
lifetime income received if he had not this education. On the basis of cost
and benefit, the role of return on investment on education is calculated.
Research findings show that in developing countries, the rate of return on
investment in education was higher compared to the rate of return in physical
capital (Psacharopoulos and Patrinous, 2002).

Limitations of Human Capital Theory

Human capital theory has several limitations.
• The relationship between education and increase in income is difficult to
measure. This is because the increase in personal income is influenced by
many factors other than education. Therefore, it is very difficult to measure
marginal productivity, especially of human capital.
• It is difficult to measure cost and benefit analysis of human capital. Though
the direct cost of education is easier to calculate, the opportunity cost and
the estimation of income forgone are difficult to measure.
• The benefit of education is much more than economic and the social benefits
of education.
• The demand for education does not only depend on costs and benefits, but
on the ability to pay for education.

1.3.2 Screening Theory

The critics of Human Capital Theory and the proponents of Screening Theory
believe that education is necessary, but not a sufficient condition to contribute to
individual productivity. They argue that specific skills required in a profession
are acquired on the job rather than at school. Screening theory states that it is
very hard to predict future performance of an individual on the basis of her or his
education. The educational qualification and diplomas are used as a screening
mechanism. Schooling is an institution of trainability. But the real training starts
on the job.

The radicalists of Screening Theory went to the extent of saying that education
merely reproduced social inequality from generation to generation. According
to Bowles and Gintis, the main function of education for the masses is to teach
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Sectoral Issues in them discipline, respect for authority, particularly obedience, the ability to
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cooperate and to concentrate. The radicalists believe that education prepares
labourers for inferior-level task in a productive organization. The proponents of
screening theory suggest that much of education in developing countries is
irrelevant. Expansion of education results in a higher diploma holder replacing
lower diploma holder without producing any improvement in productivity.
Three key element of screening theory are:
• Learning by doing
• Screening and
• Diploma inflation
Criticisms of Screening Theory
Some of the criticisms of screening theory are as follows:
• The screening theory proposition that higher education does not adequately
contribute to higher earning is not always correct. According to Wolpin, it is
hard to explain why self employed people with a higher education usually
have higher earnings than self employed people with less education.

• Screening, the real function of education, is somehow parochial and education

really vitalizes one’s ability to qualify for the test function of education is
much more than screening.

• Szirmai remarked that the correlation between education and income persists
throughout people’s workings life. The argument given by the proponents of
screening theory is that education boosts initial earnings, which is not always
true.

In this section you have studied the theory of contribution of education to

development. Now answer the questions in Check Your Progress 2.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.
b) Check your answer with possible answers given at the end of the unit
1) What are the key features of Human Capital Theory?
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2) What are the differences between the Human Capital Theory and Screening Education
Theory?
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1.4 DETERMINANTS OF EDUCATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT
In this section, you will study the various determinants of educational
development. Some of the key determinants of educational development are
discussed below.

1.4.1 Literacy
Literacy is one of the weighty parameters of educational development of a nation.
UNESCO and United Nations place great emphasis on the removal of illiteracy.
During the early years, between 1946 and 1958, one of the main objectives of
UNESCO was fundamental education. The main aim of the fundamental
education is that every person has a right to learn the three R’s: reading, writing
and arithmetic. According to Szirmai, fundamental education was not limited to
literacy alone, it also included vocational skills, domestic skills, knowledge of
hygiene, knowledge of the principles of science, artistic skills, an understanding
of one’s social environment, the development of personnel skills and moral traits.
However, to the common man, literacy means formal school education. According
to UNESCO (2002) a person is functionally literate, if he, or she, is able to
engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning
of his, or her, group and community, and for enabling him to continue to use
reading, writing, and calculation for his own and the community’s development.
Table 1.3 : Adult Literacy of a Few Countries
Countries Adult Literacy
Bangladesh 47
China 91
India 61
Pakistan 50
Sri Lanka 91
Tanzania 69
Nigeria 69
Thailand 93
Source: World Development Indicators-2009
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Sectoral Issues in The adult literacy rate is quite high in Asian countries like China, Thailand and
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Sri Lanka, but lower in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. Literacy is one of the
vital instruments of women’s empowerment as it enhances their access to
employment, and enables them to take part in household decisions making.

1.4.2 Educational Environment: Enrolment and Dropout

The enrolment and drop out rates at various levels of education reflect the
educational environment prevailing in the country. Enrolment in primary,
secondary, and tertiary education is improving in the developing countries, but
not substantially. As compared to developed nations, most of them are far behind.
Particularly in GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) in the secondary and tertiary sector,
the rate is very low. In developing countries, for example, the GER in secondary
and tertiary education are 95 and 83 per cent respectively in the USA, but in
India, it is 52 and 11 per cent respectively. Enrolment in primary education is a
problem in sub Saharan Africa, where, on an average, 43 per cent of children
between the age of 6 and 11 are not attending primary school. According to
UNESCO (2002), households surveys in sub Saharan Africa indicate that the
number of pupils who actually attend school is substantially lower than the
enrolment figures. The GER of a few countries is given in Table 1.4.

Table 1.4 : Gross Enrolment Ratio in a few Countries

Countries Gross Enrolment Ratio (2004)
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Bangladesh 106 51 7
China 115 70 15
India 107 52 11
Pakistan 82 27 3
Sri Lanka 102 81 -
Tanzania 101 - 1
Nigeria 99 35 10
USA 100 95 83
UK 101 170 63
Source: World Development Indicator, World Bank 2006

1.4.3 Educational Expenditure

The Education Commission, constituted by the Government of India in 1966,
envisaged that we should strive to allocate the target proportion of GDP to
educational development. The expenditure on education is fundamental to
educational development. The expenditure is required for infrastructure building,
supply of teaching and learning materials, salary of the teachers, and other
subsidies provided to the disadvantaged section of population. It is a fact that the
proportion of national income devoted to education in developing countries is
small compared to developed countries. For example, the 2006 World
Development Indicators, published by the World Bank has mentioned that
Bangladesh spends only 2.2 per cent of its GDP on education, while the United
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Kingdom spends 11.5 per cent (nearly five times more than Bangladesh) of GDP Education
on education.

Table 1.5 : Government Expenditure as a Percentage of GDP, 2000

Countries % of GDP
Bangladesh 2.4
China 2.1
India 2.9
Pakistan 2.7
Sri Lanka 3.1
Nigeria 0.7
Developing Countries 3.9
Developed Countries 5.1

Source: UNESCO, Institute of Statistics, Home Page, Global Statistics, Education, Statistical
Tables, Http:// portal.unesco.org/uis/.

1.4.4 Education Development Index

Now a day particularly after the formulation of Human Development Index,
many nations have also developed an Education Development Index to assess
the performance in education. An index, the Education Development Index (EDI)
calculated for the all schools, that is, primary and upper primary, by the National
University of Educational Planning and Administration (NEUPA) reveals that
southern states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu rank higher than other states in
India. The EDI was developed taking four broad parameters into account, such
as access, infrastructure, teacher related indicators and outcomes. The EDIs of
20 main states of the Indian union are given in Table-6.

Table 1.6: Educational Development Index-All Schools (primary &upper

primary), 2006-07
States Index Rank
Andhra Pradesh 0.670 12
Assam 0.477 31
Bihar 0.321 35
Chatisgarh 0.521 27
Gujarat 0.677 09
Haryana 0.612 20
Himachal Pradesh 0.707 06
Jammu&Kashmir 0.633 17
Jharkhand 0.381 34
Karnataka 0.680 08

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Sectoral Issues in
Development-II Kerala 0.772 01
Madhya Pradesh 0.481 30
Maharastra 0.677 10
Orissa 0.487 29
Punjab 0.654 15
Rajasthan 0.582 22
Tamil Nadu 0.741 04
Uttar Pradesh 0.526 26
Uttarakhand 0.629 19
West Bengal 0.458 33
Source: NUEPA, New Delhi.

The Global Education Development Index ranks India, 102; Bangladesh, 107
and China,30 and Korea, 6 in positions.

Table 1.7 : Global Education Development Index,2006

Country Rank
Korea 6
China 30
Indonesia 60
India 102
Bangladesh 107
Nepal 113
Source: Educational Development Index in India-digitalLearningArticle.mht

1.4.5 Non Formal Education

Non formal education plays an important role in spreading education in many
developing countries. Studies conducted by UNESCO indicate an upward trend
in enrolment in non formal education comprising of organized education that
are not included in the regular school system. The two important forms of non
formal education are adult education and distance education. VKRV Rao said
that without adult education and adult literacy, it is not possible to have that
range of economic and social development which is required, nor it is possible
to have that content or quality or tone to our economic and social development
that makes it worthwhile in terms of values and welfare. A programme of adult
education and adult literacy should, therefore, take front place in any programme
for economic and social development. The National Knowledge Commission of
India has remarked that while formal education is useful in building human capital,
not all individuals are able to participate in it. Therefore, enough resources must
be invested to ensure that distance education is developed as a viable alternative
to formal education. The distance education programme launched by IGNOU
(Indira Gandhi National Open University) and other open universities and
correspondence courses launched by various other universities in India serves
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the purpose of non formal education in higher education. The National Open Education
School in India also fulfils the need of secondary school education for school
dropout and out of school children. These systems will embolden educational
development.

1.4.6 Educational Technology

The use of educational technology is a sign of educational development in this
globalization era. The use of ICT (Information Communication Technology) in
education has made teaching-learning interesting and broad based. The launch
of educational satellites has enhanced the use of ICT in education system.
Extension education on various developmental programmes through the
educational satellite is more cost effective than the face-to-face extension
programme. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, while acknowledging
the role of EDUSAT, said that democratization of knowledge indicates knowledge
for everyone, anytime, any place. EDUSAT will be extremely helpful in making
this shift possible and decreasing the digital divide. The application of ICT in
education is an important indicator of educational development.

In this section, you studied the determinants of educational development. Now

answer the questions given in Check Your Progress 3.

Check Your Progress 3

Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.
b) Check your answer with possible answers given at the end of the unit
1) How is non formal education vital to development?
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2) Explain three important determinants of educational development.
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1.5 PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Education plays an important role in the formation of human capital of a nation.
It produces skilled manpower, capable of driving the nation towards the path of
sustainable development. There is a close link between education and
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Sectoral Issues in development. However, education is vexed with a number of problems in many
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countries, particularly in developing countries. Some of the problems are the
poor quality of education, lack of public expenditure on education, disparities
between caste, class, and gender, and between regions, and a deficiency of trained
teachers, teaching materials, and physical infrastructure.

1.5.1 Poor Allocation of Resources

Education is one of the vital sectors of social development. In most countries
education is a public good. However, globalization and privatization has enhanced
investment on education, largely in the tertiary sector. But still the expenditure
on education as a percentage of GDP in developing countries is low compared to
developed countries. For example, public expenditure on education is 2.2 per
cent of GDP in India, while in USA it is 5.7 per cent. The low public investment
in education has resulted in poor performance in infrastructure, teaching and
research in education. The gap between the demand for education and allocation
of resources is widening in developing countries, because of the high population.
This gap is high in South Asia and subSaharan Africa. UNESCO has calculated
that there is a shortfall of 5.6 billion US dollar to meet the external finance
requirement to achieve the goal of Education for All by 2015 (UNESCO, 2002).

1.5.2 Quality of Education

The quality of education is of great concern in developing countries. The poor
quality of teachers, teaching-learning materials, teacher-pupil ratio, pupil-class
room ratio, and outdated curriculum, greatly affect the quality of education in
developing countries. According to the World Development Indicators (2006)
data, the teacher-pupil ratio in primary schools in India, is 41 as against in USA
and UK which is 15 and 17 respectively. As far as the pupil-classroom ratio is
concerned, in many primary schools two or three classes are held in a single
class room. This has resulted in student absenteeism, dropout and grade repetition
even at the primary level of education. Improving educational quality was included
among six major educational goals formulated for 2015 at the World Education
Forum held at Dakar (UNESCO, 2002).

1.5.3 Educational Disparities

According to Coombs, the access to educational facilities is distributed inequally.
Educational disparities are observed in following fields:
i) rural-urban
ii) male and female
iii) among different regions
iv) between different castes and ethnic groups.
The rural people have poor access to education facilities particularly to secondary
and post secondary education. Customarily, all the tertiary educational institutions
are found to be situated in semi-urban and urban areas, thus, depriving the rural
area children of their right to tertiary education in many developing countries.

The second significant inequality in educational attainment is gender disparities,

i.e., differences between males and females. In traditional societies, the education
of girl children is generally restricted. Among economically weaker families,
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people generally prefer to spend on the education of the male child rather than Education
the female child. The Gender Parity Index (defined as female enrolment divided
by male enrolment ratios) was 0.93 worldwide, the lowest being in southwest
Asia, 0.84; the Arab States, 0.88 and sub Saharan Africa, 0.89 (Szirmai, 2005).

The third inequality observed in education development is the disparities between

the nations, and, within a nation, between the regions. Around the globe, the
educational disparities are observed between Europe, Asia and USA. Literacy
also varies between the nations in Asian countries. In the same country, literacy
varies from one region to the other, for instance, in India, the literacy rate and
educational development is high among southern region states such as Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh as compared to the central region
states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Various factors, such as educational
governance, peoples’ participation, expenditure on education, etc. are responsible
factors for regional educational disparities.

Inclusive education is a buzz word in this globalized era. Inclusive education

should include both the socially and physically handicapped, who are excluded
groups in the educational mainstream. In India, the literacy and level of education
among the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the disabled are the lower
compared to other group of population. The Education Commission Report (1964-
66) of Government of India has envisaged that “One of the important social
objectives of education is to equalize educational opportunity, enabling the
backward or under-privileged classes and individuals to use education as a liver
for improvement of their condition.”

1.5.4 Lack of Strong Educational Policy

The developing nations need to have strong education policies. The policy need
to establish strong linkages between education and development. It should also
be amended from time to time incorporating the changes taking place around the
world. However, most of the developing countries do not have strong education
policies. Even if some countries do have strong education policies, they do not
amend them regularly. Most of the policies are archaic in nature and lack
dynamism. For instance, India’s New Education Policy was formulated in 1986
(revised in 1992).

1.5.5 Week Public-Private- Partnership in Education

Education in general and primary education in particular is a social good. It is
observed that the private sector’s educational investments are guided by profit
motive and mostly investments are in tertiary education. The public-private
partnership for the universalization of primary education is clearly lacking.
Therefore, the globalization has created another disparity, where the percentage
of expenditure to GDP in tertiary education is comparatively higher than the
primary and secondary education. This is because of higher private expenditure
in tertiary education.

1.5.6 Poor Community Participation

In developing countries, people are dependent on government grants for
educational development of their locality. They consider government as the active
provider and communities as the passive beneficiaries. This attitude is detrimental
to the proliferation of education at the grassroots. In Bangladesh, the women’s
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Sectoral Issues in self help groups and in India in many states, panchayati raj institutions are playing
Development-II
important roles in the development of education in their villages and panchayats.
The Village Education Committees formulated at each panchayat level actively
support the ‘Education for All’ movement in the countryside of India. Therefore,
community participation is one of the key issues in educational accessibility to
the unreached masses.

1.6 EMERGING ISSUES IN EDUCATION AND

DEVELOPMENT
A few emerging issues in education and development are:
i) education for sustainable development
ii) globalization and education
iii) environmental education
iv) inclusive education.

1.6.1 Education for Sustainable Development

The United Nations General Assembly in its 57th meeting in December 2002
declared the decade 2005-14 as the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development. The vision of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is of
a world:
• Where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from quality education and
learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future
and for positive societal transformation.
• It is for everyone, at all stages of life and in all possible learning contexts.
• It engages multiple sectors and stakeholders including media agencies and
private sector.
• It utilizes all forms and methods of public awareness raising, education and
training to promote broad understanding of sustainable development.
• It addresses all three pillars of sustainable development- society, environment,
and economy.
• It enables all individuals to fully develop the knowledge, perspectives, values
and skills necessary to take part in decision to improve the quality of life.

1.6.2 Globalization and Education

Customarily, globalization is defined as a set of processes by which the world is
rapidly being integrated into a single space. Globalization has touched upon all
aspects such as economic, political, social and cultural of life of an individual,
community, society and a nation. Therefore, globalization in a holistic sense can
be called economic globalization, political globalization, social globalization,
and cultural globalization. According to UNCTAD (1993), the essence of
globalization is not contained strictly in trade and investment figures nor in the
percentage of a national economy that is national, but a new way of thinking
about economic and social space and time. Globalization has affected education
in many ways.
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• With globalization, there is an expansion of science education across the Education
globe. The policy makers, worldwide, regarded economic growth as
dependent on the scientific and technological capabilities of their labour
force and science education fulfil that requirement.
• There is a pressure on reduce the growth of public spending on education
and rise in other sources of funding.
• There is growing emphasis on tertiary education.
• The notion of education is compared internationally and, therefore, there is
growing emphasis on quality education.
• Explosion of information and communication technology.
• Globalization has affected the enrolment, governance of education structure,
functions and roles, and delivery of higher education across the nation.

1.6.3 Decentralization, Education, and Development

Decentralization of functions, functionaries and funds to the local self government
has been proved an effective strategy of development in many countries. The
Local Government Declaration to the World Summit on Sustainable Development
held in 2002 envisaged that “We live in an increasingly interconnected,
interdependent world. Local government can not afford to be insular and inward
looking”. In the Indian context, Gandhiji maintained that “Independence must
begin at the bottom and every village will be a republic of Panchayats having
full powers. It is therefore, that every village has to be self sustained and capable
of maintaining its affairs even to against the whole world. It will be trained and
prepared to perish in the attempts to defend itself against any onslaught.” The
decentralized model adopted by the Scandinavian countries in Europe, and in
Kerala, India, has enabled these nations and states to achieve all round
development. The committee appointed by the government of Rajasthan way
back in 1964 (Committee Report, 1964) has made the following observations
“the Panchayats and Panchayat Samitis have made considerable efforts for
enrolment of boys and girls. The attendance of teachers in village schools has
significantly improved due to close watch and supervision. People have
constructed a large number of school buildings, despite reduction in government
assistance.” The decentralization of economic decision-making and
implementation would not only reduce the cost of development but would also
ensure more equitable distribution of fruits of development.

In India, the panchayati raj institutions, after the implementation of the 73rd
constitutional amendment, are playing an important role in the educational
development. Some of the duties and responsibilities assigned to them under the
11th Schedule of the constitution are
• education, including primary and secondary schools
• technical training and vocational education
• adult and non formal education.

1.6.4 Inclusive Education

Inclusive education, in recent years, occupies an important place in the national,
as well as international organizations, helping the developing countries to spread
21
Sectoral Issues in education. In common parlance, inclusive education means the right of all learners
Development-II
irrespective of caste, colour, creed, gender, and disabilities to receive quality
education which meets basic learning needs and enriches lives. It focuses
particularly on entitlement of education to vulnerable and marginalized, who,
largely, are excluded from mainstream education. The ultimate goal of inclusive
education is to end all forms of discrimination and foster social equity. The
Education for All Global Monitoring Report, 2008 says, “ inclusion means
encompassing, the marginalized and disadvantaged, whether they be poor, belong
to rural and urban slums, ethnic and linguistic minorities or the disabled; all age
groups from early childhood education (ECCE) to adults (especially literacy).”

Vocational education has occupied an important place in the present-day era of

privatization and globalization. Modernization and industrialization have
enhanced the demand for vocational education. The National Knowledge
Commission of the Government of India has noted that “there is a growing demand
for skilled workers, but data suggests that this demand is not met by the existing
system, since the skills imparted do not match employer’s needs. In order to
become more relevant in the changing context and to exploit this demographic
advantage in future, there is a need to create a model of imparting vocational
education that is flexible, sustainable, inclusive and creative.” Vocational
education prepares the learners for career and profession that are directly related
to specific trade and vocation. The labour market has become more diversified
and skill driven and requires skilled manpower. Therefore, there is a need for
investing in quality vocational education institutions. In the Indian context, as
nine out of ten people work in the unorganized sector, the role of vocational
education has become more significant. Vocational education in India is imparted
mainly through the ITIs (Industrial Training Institutions) and polytechnic
institutions. Many private educational institutions and Non-Governmental
Organizations are also now a day’s providing vocational education in India.
Vocational education has a key role to play in the development of the nation.

In this section, you studied about emerging issues in education. Now, answer the
questions given in Check Your Progress 4.

Check Your Progress 4

Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.
b) Check your answer with possible answers given at the end of the unit
1) How has globalization affected educational development?
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2) What do you mean by inclusive education? Education

.......................................................................................................................
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1.7 LET US SUM UP

Education is one of the important factors of development. There is a strong
relationship between education and development. Besides the relationship
between education and development, this unit has focused on the determinants
of educational development and various problems and issues in educational
development. This unit also outlines two important theories about the contribution
of education to development. Thus, education and development complement
and supplement each other. Without education, there cannot be faster
development. However, globalization has affected the education of a nation to a
great extent and the emphasis is largely from literacy to higher education. Like
globalization, education is also faced with a lot of problems and challenges which
have been discussed in detail in this unit.

1.8 KEYWORDS
Adult Literacy Rate : the literacy rate among people ages 15 and older.

Gross Enrolment : the ratio in a given year of the total enrolment at a

Ratio (GER) given educational level (Primary, secondary and
tertiary) and the total estimated population in the
corresponding age bracket.

Enrolment in Primary School

GER (Primary) = —————————————— × 100
Children in the age group (6-11)

Enrolment in Secondary School

GER (Secondary) = —————————————— × 100
Children in the age group (12-17)

Enrolment in Post Secondary School Education

GER (Tertiary) = ——————————————————— × 100
Children in the age group (20-24)

23
Sectoral Issues in
Development-II 1.9 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Bowles, S and H Gintis (1976), Schooling in Capitalist America, Basic Books,
New York.
Harbinson, F.H (1973), Human Resources as the Wealth of Nations, Oxford
University Press. Oxford.
Psacharopoulos, G and HA Patrinos (2002), Returns to Investment in Education:
A Future Update, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 2881, Washington.
DC: World Bank, September.
Szirmai, A (2005), The Dynamics of Socio-Economic Development An
Introduction, Cambridge University Press, London.
Tadaro, MP (1982), Economics for a Developing World, Second Edition,
Lomgman, London.
UNCTAD(1993),World Investment Report1993: Transnational Cooperation and
Integrated International Production, New York, United Nations.
UNESCO (2002) The 2002 Global Education for all Monitoring Report: Is the
World on Track? Paris, UNESCO
Williamson, B (1979), Education, Social Structure and Development: A
Comparative Analysis, London, Macmillan.
Wolpin, K (1977) “Education and Screening”, American Economic Review,
67(5), pp949-58.
World Bank (1993), The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy,
New York, Oxford University Press.

1.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS-POSSIBLE

ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1

1) Briefly describe the importance of education to development

Education, whether formal, informal and/or non formal, through change in
knowledge, behaviour, and practices brings development. Education is an
investment, which brings development in the long run. According to Amartya
Sen the solution to all problems related to the economy, development, or
population lies in education. Education, in general, and vocational educational
in particular, enhances productivity both in the industrial sector and the
agricultural sector as well.

2) Can Education promote modernization and social equity?

The Education Commission of India (1964-66) has highlighted (Chapter-
IV) in Towards Equalization of Educational Opportunities : “One of the
important social objectives of education is to equalize educational
opportunities, enabling the backward or under-privileged classes and
individuals to use education as a lever for improvement of their condition”
Besides, education helps in the modernization of society. Educated persons
24
 could easily adopt modern values of society as compared to illiterate persons Education
who are largely guided by the traditional believes and values.

Check Your Progress 2

1) What are the key features of Human Capital Theory?
The key features of Human Capital Theory are:
• It is not only the physical capital stock that is labour which is important,
but also human capital stock, such as labour, which is critical to the
growth and development of a nation.

• When people become more educated, they become more productive.

There is a close relationship between the number of years of schooling
and the income level of a person. In other words, increasing the level of
schooling would lead to higher earning.

• The human capital theory believes that people are willing to invest in
education, which is an investment for the future. Not only the individual,
but also the whole society would gain out of investment in education.

2) What are the differences between the Human Capital Theory and Screening
Theory?
The differences between the human capital theory and screening theory are
narrated as follows. The advocates of human capital theory were of the
opinion that it is not only the physical capital stock, that is labour is important,
but also human capital stock such as education of labour is critical to growth
and development of a nation. They argued that when people become more
and more educated, they become more productive.

Screening theory believes that education is necessary but not a sufficient

condition to contribute to individual productivity. It argues that specific skills
required in a profession are acquired on the job, rather than at school.
Screening theory states that it is very hard to predict future performance of
an individual on the basis of her or his education.

Check Your Progress 3

1) How is non formal education is vital to development?

Non formal education plays an important role in development. For example,
the extension education which is largely a non formal education given to the
farmers and the education given to the family regarding their health by the
health extension workers, contributes to development in the respective fields.
VKRV Rao said that without adult education and adult literacy, it is not
possible to have that range of economic and social development which is
required, nor it is possible to have that content or quality or tone to our
economic and social development that makes it worthwhile in terms of values
and welfare. A programme of adult education and adult literacy should,
therefore, take a front place in any programme for economic and social
development.

25
Sectoral Issues in 2) Explain three important determinants of educational development.
Development-II
The three important determinant of educational development are literacy
rate, educational environment (in terms of enrolment and dropouts), and
educational expenditures.

Check Your Progress 4

1) How has globalization affected educational development?
Globalization has affected education in the following ways.
• With globalization, there is an expansion of science education across
the globe. Policy makers, worldwide, regard economic growth as
dependent on the scientific and technological capabilities of their labour
force and science education fulfils that requirement.
• There is a pressure to reduce the growth of public spending on education
and rise in other sources of funding.
• There is a growing emphasis on tertiary education.

2) What do you mean by inclusive education?

In common parlance, inclusive education means the right of all learners
irrespective of caste, colour, creed, gender and disabilities to receive quality
education which meets basic learning needs and enriches lives. It focuses
particularly on the entitlement to education by the vulnerable and
marginalized, who largely are excluded from the mainstream education. The
ultimate goal of inclusive education is to end all forms of discrimination and
foster social equity.

26