Human Development in India - NCAER

education 81Figure 6.3 Educational Costs by Current Standard (Children Aged 6–14)Source: IHDS 2004–5 data.Source: IHDS 2004–5 data.Figure 6.4 Total Educational Costs by Sex (Children Aged 6–14)Many upper-income families are located in urban areasand have highly educated adults in the family. All of thesefactors combine to privilege children from upper-incomehouseholds and these inequalities are reflected in the children’seducational outcomes: 73 per cent of children fromthe top income quintile are able to read simple paragraphs ascompared to 45 per cent from the bottom quintile.GROWING ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTORThe discussion of educational costs and outcomes points tothe importance of the type of schooling children receive.The Indian educational sector is characterized by a complexinterplay between private and public inputs. Historically,the government has played a dominant role in the provisionof educational services, via the operation of governmentschools, largely managed by state governments and localbodies, as well as through privately managed but publiclyfunded schools called government-aided schools. These aidedschools are operated by charitable trusts, voluntary organizations,and religious bodies but receive substantial fundingfrom the government. Table 6.1 documents the distributionof the type of school attended by enrolled children,aged 6–14, in the IHDS. The results indicate that about67 per cent of students attend government schools, about5 per cent attend government-aided schools, and 24 per centattend private schools. Convents and Madrasas account for