Gendered Inequality in Educational Transitions

This paper highlights the causes for the inequality in educational transitions in India. Where education is concerned, not only do girls lag behind, but also certain communities and classes fare worse than others. The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to highlight the factors responsible for this inequality for both boys and girls from socially deprived origins, and secondly, to highlight in particular the inequality faced by girls at each educational transition stage. The paper uses a unique National Election Study (1996) data set that contains information on the respondent and the respondent's parent's caste, class, religion and locality. The major results of this study are only partly consistent with previous research. There was weak support for the effect of caste, but class on the other hand emerged as a strong determinant of the relative chance of a child continuing in school. No support was found for an additional class effect where the education of girls is concerned, thus refuting the notion of a more egalitarian Indian middle class.