MACMILLAN Education and Development in India: Critical Issues in Public Policy and Development

Drawing on empirical, interdisciplinary research, this book presents a critical review of some of the major issues that are of interest to researchers, policymakers and planners in developing as well as advanced countries, including specifically in India.  It provides an in-depth review of some of the major development policy issues in education in general, and in India in particular, over the past 2-3 decades. Besides presenting an overview of the educational developments in India that reflects issues such as growth, equity, efficiency, foreign aid, decentralization, center-state relations, financing, and cost recovery, the book puts forward in-depth analyses of education poverty, interrelations between education and poverty, low level of outcomes in elementary education, effects of structural adjustment policies and approaches on education, south-south cooperation, etc.  It also critically discusses changes in policies relating to financing higher education, external assistance for education, and how the growth of private higher education is affecting society at large. The dichotomy between public policy and action is also highlighted in many chapters.  On the whole, while the importance of education is being increasingly recognized, the state does not seem to be as willing to foot the bill for education as the households and even the private sector. Occasionally contrasting with international evidence on, for example, financing higher education, private higher education, or the effects of neo-liberal policies, the book offers an interesting read for a wider audience.       Review “Over the past three-four decades, Jandhyala Tilak has proved himself to be one of India's leading economists of education.  Engaging astutely with the best available evidence, both quantitative and qualitative, this book elucidate the complexities and possibilities of the Indian system of education in a manner that is not only accessible but also helpful to policy makers and analysts. … The publication of many of Tilak’s papers in a single volume is indeed welcome, for it will both instruct and inspire a new generation of educational policy scholars, in India and elsewhere.” (Fazal Rizvi, Professor of Global Studies in Education, The University of Melbourne Australia) “A distinguished economist of education, Prof. Tilak had bestrode like a colossus the Indian educational policy research landscape for four decades. His prolific research output touches and illuminates almost every major policy issue. … This compilation is a selection of his vast oeuvre, and its merit lies in making available at a single place some of his seminal publications. It is also valuable for tracing the evolution of the policy thinking in the areas covered as well as of Prof. Tilak’s own thinking.” (R V Vaidyanatha Ayyar, Former Secretary to Government of India & Author of The Holy Grail: India’s Quest for Elementary Education (2016) and History of Education policymaking in India, 1947-2016) “Not only does this book illustrate the breadth of the subject but also the breadth of the author. These important articles range across issues of poverty, equity, efficiency, household economy, economic growth, human capital theory, finance, governance, external aid, political cooperation across developing countries, private higher education and the nature of statistics. They testify to a career well spent and well appreciated.” (Stephen P. Heyneman, Professor (Emeritus), International Education Policy, Vanderbilt University) “Professor Tilak is an unforgettable name in the field of Economics of education when it refers to the analysis of the economic dimensions of education in India … there is no issue in economics of education in India that is not subjected to rigorous analysis by Dr Tilak. The present volume bears testimony to this observation.” (P R Panchamukhi, Professor Emeritus & Chairman, Centre for Multi-Disciplinary Development Research