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Dynamics of Youth Population - Impact of Education Expenditure
Dynamics of Youth Population - Impact of Education Expenditure
By
Joydeep Goswami
Palash Baruah
Rajesh Shukla
Abstract
Youth constitutes the largest segment of the Indian population and being the primary productive
human resources, the socio-economic development of youth directly linked to the development
process. This paper is an attempt to see the various demographic characteristics of the Indian youth
population and determine the household expenditure pattern on education and related items using
National Sample Survey data for two rounds (1993-94 and 2004-05). Results are presented for
individual states separately for rural and urban and also for various socio-economic characteristics such
as social groups, household size, level of education, occupation, etc.
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1. Introduction
This paper stems from the need to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing issues affecting
youth in developing countries with particular reference to India and determining priorities among the
youth. Youth are the key element and an important recipient of national development. Youth
constitutes the largest segment of the Indian population and being the primary productive human
resources, the socio-economic development of youth contributes directly to the development process.
It is, therefore, necessary to make youth the principal focus of developmental endeavors of society.
The importance of exploring about the various facets of youth was felt after pervasive student unrest in
Europe in the 1960s that stimulated various stakeholders to take stock of the problems of the youth
and find out the necessary remedies. Governments, International organizations and leaders at various
stages felt the need to drive out the growing hostility among the youth. In the process, various policies
and plans were formulated to involve youth in development and to channel their energies in
constructive work. In Asia, UNESCO convened the first regional meeting on Youth Mobilization for
Development in 1978 at Kathmandu.
India has a diverse youth population in terms of ethnic origin, religion and socio-economic setting.
There are diverse communities with their distinct customs, cultures, and values. Such diversities require
customized initiatives to meet the needs of the youth. While the National Youth Policy 2003 addresses
the needs of youth comprehensively, in implementation it needs to be tailored to the unique
circumstances of any state. The policy seeks to harness the strength of the youth such as dedication,
honesty, simplicity, interest in sports and cultural activity, and love for culture and values.
From time to time several policies and programs have been implemented for the development of the
youth. However, it is a matter of debate how far these programs and policies have benefitted the
Indian youth and improved their status. In simple terms, mere demographic data are not sufficient to
make predictions about the future of the younger generations.
In this paper, an attempt has been made to see the demographic characteristics of the Indian youth
population and determine the household expenditure on education. A comparison has been made in
the change in education expenditure over a two-year period.
Youth is a collectively assembled concept to a large extent. This has more to do with age than with
status and behavior. There was no concept of youth in traditional societies; rather it was considered a
transformation of childhood to adulthood. The concept of youth is learnt through everyday experience.
However, it has been felt that this is no longer possible, in today‟s fabrication.
There have been high degrees of difficulty in comparing countries vis-à-vis their youth profiles - due to
the differences in the definitions of youth. No uniformity in definition of youth has been found across
countries of the world because this is not a harmonized group. A few researchers have defined the
youth according to the purpose and need of the research. In the words of Atal (2005), youth is a
demographic concept that has both biological and sociological aspects. Youth relates to an age group
that is transiting between childhood and adulthood. Sociologically it is a category, not a group. And this
category may consist of several groups. The Brazilian experience in defining a legal code for minors
provides a good example of a clear and concise definition that distinguishes children from youth.
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Fahey and Gale (2005) argue that different cultural assumptions underpinning the definition of youth
in particular countries are often based on the average age for marriage, parenthood, employment or
voting. The assumption is that age defines the boundaries of a group that exhibits some homogeneity
of attitudes. The assumption of consistency of attitudes within an age category is clearly an
overgeneralization but youth world over is not to be treated as a homogenous group. Differing socio-
economic and political structures of developed and developing countries shape the characteristics and
attitudes of youth. The nature of economic organization, dependence on agriculture and informal
activities, family and kinship organizations and political structures exert significant influence.
United Nations considers youth as those in the age-group of 15-24 years. The National Youth Policy,
2003, defined youth as people in the country in the age group of 13 to 35 years. It is acknowledged that
since all the persons within this age group are unlikely to be one homogeneous group, but rather a
conglomeration of subgroups with differing social roles and requirements, the age group may,
therefore, be divided into two broad sub-groups viz. 13-19 years and 20-35 years. The youth belonging
to the age group 13-19 years form a major part of the adolescent age group and are regarded as a
separate constituency.
Youth is a transition phase between the more established social categories of childhood and adulthood
to a large extent. There is considerable cross-cultural variation as to when an individual becomes an
adult. The transition from childhood to adulthood has a crucial gender dimension. During this stage
expectations and personal aspirations of boys and girls begin to deviate. Every country of the world is
experiencing a bulge in the youth population. It is believed that India with large birth rate coupled with
lower death rate will have 470 million youth population by 2020 that is available to be part of the
productive process.
Youth comprises 18 per cent of the world‟s population and of this about 85 per cent live in the
developing world. It has been revealed that India is and will remain for some time one of the youngest
countries in the world. A third of India's population was below 15 years of age in 2000 and close to 20
per cent were young people in the age group of 15-24. The population in the 15-24 age group grew
from around 175 million in 1995 to 190 million in 2000 and 210 million in 2005. In 2020, the average
Indian will be only 29 years old, compared with 37 in China and the US, 45 in West Europe and 48 in
Japan (UNDP, 2006).
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Close to 61 per cent of the population in India belongs to the age group of 13-59 years and 38 per cent
of them belong to the age group of 13-34 years. In rural areas, about 14 per cent males and 13 per cent
females constitute 13-19 years, while in urban areas; the ratio is 14.8 per cent and 14.5 per cent (Table
1). In contrast, in rural areas about 22 per cent males and 23 per cent females belong to the age
category of 20-34 years, while in urban areas; the ratio is 26.6 per cent and 26.9 per cent. A little less
than a quarter of population in India belongs to the age group of 35-59 irrespective of the place of
residence and sex. The proportion of distribution of population by sex and place of residence in
various states of India is close with moderate variation. In Sikkim about 18 per cent of the population
in rural areas belongs to the age group of 13-19 years while it is only 10 per cent in Goa. The North-
Eastern States have higher proportion of population in the age group of 13-19 years irrespective of sex
and place of residence compared to other states and UTs in India.
Following independence in 1947, Maulana Azad, India's first education minister envisaged strong
central government control over education throughout the country, with a uniform educational system.
However, given the cultural and linguistic diversity of India, it was only the higher education dealing
with science and technology that came under the jurisdiction of the central government. The
government also held powers to make national policies for educational development and regulate
selected aspects of education across the states in India.
The central government of India formulated the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 and also
reinforced the Programme of Action (POA). The government initiated several measures including the
setting up of Navodaya Vidyalaya selective schools in every district, advances in female education, inter-
disciplinary research and establishment of open universities. India's NPE also contains the National
System of Education, which ensures some uniformity while taking into account regional education
needs. The NPE also stresses higher spending on education, envisaging a budget of more than 6 per
cent of the overall national budget. While the need for wider reform in the primary and secondary
sectors is recognized as an issue, the emphasis is also on the development of science and technology
education infrastructure.
The goal of a human rights-based approach to education is simple: to assure every child quality
education that respects and promotes her or his right to dignity and optimum development. Achieving
this goal is, however, enormously more complex. The right to education is high on the agenda of the
international community. It is affirmed in numerous human rights treaties and recognized by
governments as pivotal in the pursuit of development and social transformation. This recognition is an
exemplified end in the international goals, strategies and targets that have been set during the past 20
years. The Education for All goals were established at Jomtien (Thailand) in 1990 and reaffirmed at the
2000 World Education Forum in Dakar (Senegal). In the Millennium Development Goals, established
in 2000, the world‟s governments committed to achieving universal access to free, quality and
compulsory primary education by 2015.
Education plays a vital role in achieving human development, hence, universalization of school
education and complete eradication of illiteracy among the people in the age group of 15 to 35 years is
one of the basic objectives of the Indian five years planning. The role of education plays a very
important role in shaping the mindset of the youth. The Kothari Commission Report (1964-66) even
remarked that “the destiny of India is shaped in her classrooms” and thereby implementation of
education in a larger way among the youth is necessary.
India has made huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding
literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. The improved education system is often cited as
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one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India. The spread of education has by far
contributed greatly to the increase in literacy rate.
Table 2: Literacy Rate in India
Literates (%)
Year
Males Female All
1951 27.2 8.9 18.3
1961 40.4 15.4 28.3
1971 45.9 22 34.5
1981 56.4 29.8 43.6
1991 64.1 39.3 52.2
2001 75.6 54.2 64.8
Source: Census of India.
Census, 2001 holds the national literacy to be around 64.8 per cent. This shows that the rate of increase
in literacy has been more pronounced in rural areas than in urban areas during the last decade. On the
other hand, against 54 per cent literate female, male literacy is determined at 75.6 per cent. Within the
Indian states, Kerala has shown the highest literacy rates of little more than 90 per cent and Bihar
averaged lower than 50 per cent literacy rate, the lowest in India. The Census, 2001 also indicated that
the total number of 'absolute non literates' in the country was 304 million.
India has been actively participating in the worldwide movement for „Education for All‟ (EFA) since its
first conference in Jomiten in 1990 and is a signatory to Dakar declaration in 2000. In the World
Education Forum held in Dakar (Senegal) in April 2000, the participating countries committed
themselves to the achievements of EFA goals and targets. One of these goals is “ensuring that by 2015,
all children in the age group 6-14 years, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those
belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory education of good
quality” (UNESCO, 2000). The Conference declared that education is a fundamental human right. It is
the key to sustainable development and peace and stability within and among countries, and thus an
indispensable means for effective participation in the societies and economies of the 21st century.
Substantial gains have been made in literacy and education levels in India during the last five-and-half
decades. In the first half of the 20th century rise in literacy rate was comparatively slow. In 1901, a little
over five percent of Indian population was literate, which increased to around 16 percent in 1950, an
increase of just 11 percentage points in five decades (Govinda and Biswal, 2005). In the post-
Independence period, the decadal growth in literacy has shown a considerable progress, i.e., from 18.3
percent (5+ age group population) in 1951 to 65.4 percent (7+ age group populations) in 2001. The
literacy rate registered an increase of 13.2 percentage points from 1991 to 2001; the highest increase in
any one decade. As a result, the total number of illiterates came down from 328.9 million in 1991 to
300.1 million in 2001.
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Govinda and Biswal (2005) argue that increase in literacy may be due to the implementation of various
national and state level externally funded education programs and the National Adult Literacy Program
of the National Literacy Mission. The increase in female literacy (14.9% points) is over three
percentage points higher than that of the male literacy rate (11.7% points) in the 1990s. The female
literacy rate was just 8.9 percent in 1951, which went up to around 51 percent in 2001.
Concerted efforts have been made during the last five decades to achieve the goal of Universal
Elementary Education. There has been manifold increase in the number of institutions, teachers and
students in India. Progress in enrolment of students in the elementary level in India since 1990 is also
noteworthy.
Despite stringent efforts on the part of the government and various social organizations in
implementing compulsory education during the last six decades about 22 per cent of the youth
between the age group of 13 to 35 years in India are still illiterate. Going into the details it is revealed
that the illiteracy level is around 35 per cent in the age group of 25 to 35 years. The recent effort of free
and compulsory education is reflected by lower literacy rate among the youth in the age group of 13 to
19 years.
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The literacy level shows a wide variation by states and by place of residence. This is due to the fact that
India is a multi-lingual state and with diverse culture that varies by states. The socio-cultural differences
among the states reflect in the level of education among the masses. Besides, the social structure of the
people by states also plays an important part in determining the level of education attained. Empirical
evidence has also shown that the educational climate of the household is one of the most important
indicators of differences in educational attainment and the opportunity for social mobility among
children and youth. It is not surprising that students from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds tend to
be low academic achievers; their situation underscores the importance of providing special assistance to
promote equal opportunity.
Household expenditure in India can be categorized into regular and comfort expenditure. Regular
expenditure includes the expenditure made on basic necessities, while expenditure on comforts
includes spending on a computer, Internet, car, cell phone, etc. An analysis of household expenditure
in the past decade reveals that the average household has been spending on an increasing number of
different goods. There are a number of factors affecting the consumer spending pattern in India; these
include growing income levels resulting in more disposable income with individuals, changing attitudes
towards consumption, changes in prices, introduction of new products, availability of credit such as
loans, mortgages and credit cards, rising aspiration levels, increased literacy, growing brand
consciousness and rapid urbanization.
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Household expenditure varies for different people belonging to different sections of society and the
place of residence. For instance, people belonging to the middle class consider basic necessities and
education and spending toward the future of their children as their top priorities, followed by comfort
goods. The rich class spends more on luxury goods and international brands. The super rich class
spends on ultra luxury goods. It is observed that as disposable income increases, people prefer more of
branded goods, shift to processed foods and the expenditure on food, beverages, tobacco and
transport and communication also increases.
The NSSO 61st Round CES data reveals that the all-India average monthly household consumer
expenditure was Rs. 2728 for rural India and Rs. 4592 for urban India. Expenditure on cereals and
cereal substitutes, milk and milk products, vegetables and edible oil constitutes the major household
expenditure for an average Indian Household. However, a noticeable feature was observed that there
has been a decline in the share of food in total expenditure over the past several few decades. The
share of food in 2004-05 was 55 per cent in rural areas compared to 64 per cent in 1987-88 and 42 per
cent in urban areas compared to 56 per cent during 1987-88. The share of cereals in total consumption
expenditure was 18 per cent in rural India in 2004-05 compared to 26 per cent in 1987-88. In urban
India it was 10 per cent in 2004-05 compared to 15 per cent in 1987-88.
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The food expenditure is followed by the share of household expenditure on housing and health. An
average Indian household in rural areas spent about 2.7 per cent of the total monthly expenditure on
education in 2004-05 while the urban counterparts spent about 5 per cent. The households in states
like Haryana, Chandigarh and Nagaland spent about 6 per cent of the total household expenditures on
education. The household in states like Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu spent less
than 3 per cent of the total household expenditure on education. In Lakshadweep, the household spent
even less that 1 per cent of the total household expenditure on education. More strikingly, it is revealed
that the amount of household spends on education in rural areas is almost the same as the amount
spent of pan, tobacco and intoxicants.
The pattern of household expenditure on education is mostly studied at the macro perspective. The
level of investment at the household level has always been underestimated since perception among the
masses is that education is cheap and free in the context of free and compulsory education at the lower
strata. However, in recent years it was observed that every household spends a significant amount to
achieve education for the children. Tilak (2002) highlighted the significant financial contribution made
by households to education expenditures in rural India using the data provided by NCAER.
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Urban 11.3 8.9 0.3 8.3 35.9 13.8 7.4 85.9 2037.5
50th All
Round India 6.5 3.1 0.2 5.0 12.5 5.8 4.4 37.4 1553.9
1993- Rural 8.3 0.9 0.1 3.9 4.0 2.9 3.2 34.4 2399.5
05 Prices
At 2004-
94
Urban 21.4 8.9 0.3 8.3 35.9 13.8 7.4 164.3 3886.2
All
India 11.8 3.1 0.2 5.0 12.5 5.8 4.4 69.0 2796.1
61st Rural 12.6 2.9 0.1 14.9 29.1 10.3 2.8 72.7 2728.3
Current
Prices
Round Urban 21.7 20.6 0.1 21.8 118.4 41.7 5.5 229.9 4591.7
2004- All
05 India 15.1 7.8 0.1 16.8 53.7 18.9 3.5 116.0 3240.7
Source: Estimated from NSSO 50 and 61 Round CES Data
th st
It has been argued that the state expenditure on education in India has been only a meager 4 per cent
of the GDP, which violates the Kothari Commission report suggesting minimum 6 per cent
expenditure on education of the total GDP. It was observed that due to declining priority of education
in the public policy paradigm in India, there has been an exponential growth in the private expenditure
on education also. The private out-of-pocket expenditure by the working class population for the
education of their children in India has increased by around 12.5 times over the last decade.
National Accounts Statistics in India reveal that household expenditures on education are substantial.
A study by Tilak (2002) reveals that a household in India spent on an average Rs. 387 per annum even
on children inspite of free elementary education in 1994. The NSSO 50th round CES data reveals that a
household at current prices was spending on an average Rs. 37.40 per month on education. This has
increased to Rs. 116.00 in 2004-05. The NSSO data reveals that at real prices the average household
expenditure on education has increased by about 32 per cent during 11 years period that is during
1993-94 and 2004-05. The share of total educational expenditure to total household expenditure has
also shown a rising trend from 2.4 per cent in 1993-94 to about 3.6 per cent in 2004-05 (Table 6).
It is argued that education is more easily accessible to urban areas compared to the rural areas of the
country. Thanks to government initiatives in recent years through the introduction of various
educational schemes and programmes, the recent trend shows that facilities for education have
increased in rural areas. With the spread of education system particularly after 1986, the mean
household expenditure on education has also increased considerably irrespective of the place of
residence. Compared to the increase in household expenditure in real terms on education in urban
areas by about 28 per cent, the household expenditure on education in rural areas has experienced an
increase of about 53 per cent during 1993-94 and 2004-05. The states like Goa and Lakshadweep show
that household spending on education is more in rural areas than in urban areas. Significantly, Delhi
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and Tripura are states where household expenditure on education in rural areas has been higher
compared to its urban counterparts.
The household expenditure on education is marked by more spending on private tutors followed by
tuition fees and books and journals. An Indian household seems to be spending the least on
stationeries and on libraries. However, there has been marked increase in household expenditure on
tuition fees over the years. This may be due to higher cost of present day education in regular
institutions and the youth in the country in general preferring to go for various professional courses in
view of gainful employment.
Household expenditure on books and journal finds higher weightage in rural areas while higher
spending on tuition fees is noticed for household in urban areas. A household in urban areas spends on
an average Rs 81 per month on newspaper and Rs. 48 on libraries. Interestingly, the rural household
spends more on libraries than urban households.
The household expenditure on education is expected to vary by household type and the principal
occupation of the household. The expenditure on education of urban household on an average is more
than double the rural household expenditure on education.
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Different studies show that the labourer constitutes the largest segment of the Indian population
among the household type followed by self-employed agriculturist. In the urban areas salaried
households account for around 37 per cent with a little over 45 per cent of the total income earned by
all urban households (NCAER, 2007). The expenditure scenario on education in rural areas shows that
on an average a household engaged in other activities spends about Rs. 135 per month on education
while in urban areas it is the household whose main occupation is salaries and wages spends more on
education.
Table 7A: Monthly Average Household Expenditure by Source of Household Income (Rural)
(Rupees)
Self Self
Components of Education Employed Agricultural Other Employed
Others All
Expenditure in Non Labour Labour in
Agriculture Agriculture
Books and Journals 13 6.2 9.1 16.3 18.8 12.6
Newspaper 4.2 0.3 2 2.3 10 2.9
Library Charges 0.2 0 0 0.1 0.1 0.1
Stationeries 15.7 9.1 11.4 18.8 18.3 14.9
Tuition Fees 34.5 7.5 17.1 36.1 61.8 29.1
Private Tutors 15 3.9 6.8 10.5 21.4 10.3
Other Education Expenditure 3.2 1 1.9 3.7 4.7 2.8
Total Education 85.7 28 48.4 87.9 135 72.7
Source: Estimated from NSSO 61st Round CES Data
Table 7B: Monthly Average Household Expenditure by Source of Household Income (Urban)
(Rupees)
Regular
Components of Education Casual
Self Employed wage & Others All
Expenditure Labour
Salary
Books and Journals 21.9 24.2 7.2 27.7 21.7
Newspaper 19.6 25.7 2.1 25.3 20.6
Library Charges 0.1 0.1 0 0.3 0.1
Stationeries 23.2 23 10.8 24.1 21.8
Tuition Fees 127.6 141.2 17.9 108.3 118.5
Private Tutors 37.3 54.7 8.5 44.3 41.8
Other Education Expenditure 5.5 5.9 1.2 8.8 5.5
Total Education 235.2 274.9 47.8 238.8 230.0
Source: Estimated from NSSO 61st Round CES Data
The rural household spends more on tuition fees irrespective of the household type followed by
expenditure on stationeries. The agriculturist and the household engaged in business in rural areas
spend more than 40 per cent of the expenditure incurred on education in tuition fees. The household,
whose main occupation is agriculture labour, spends roughly about 32 per cent of the total educational
expenditure on stationeries. The expenditure on tuition fees for urban household makes the greater
share among the total household expenditure on education.
In real terms, expenditure on education by households has increased both in the rural and urban areas.
As discussed in the previous section there was about 28 per cent increase in the household expenditure
on education in urban areas while in rural areas it has increased by about 53 per cent during 1993-94
and 2004-05. It needs to be highlighted that the household expenditure on education for the household
engaged as agricultural labour has increased by about 62 per cent during 1993-94 and 2004-05. In the
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urban areas, there was about 47 per cent increase in household expenditure on education for
households engaged in other activities and about 40 per cent increase in household expenditure noticed
for the household engaged as casual labour. On the other hand, there was an increase of around 16 per
cent in household expenditure on education for the household engaged in regular salary and wages.
A study by Azam (2008) observed that the differences in welfare, as measured by per capita
expenditure (PCE), between social groups in rural India across the entire welfare distribution
establishes that the disadvantage suffered by the two historically disadvantaged groups - Scheduled
Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) - is underestimated when the comparison group is Non-
SCs/STs rather than general category (mostly higher castes). The study suggests that the ST
households are the most disadvantaged followed by the SC and OBC households with respect to
general category households, and the disadvantage exists across the entire distribution. For the
difference in PCE between general category and OBC households, the covariate (coefficient) effect
dominates the coefficient (covariate) effect below the median (above the median).
The estimated share of rural population in the total population was 74.68 per cent. The share of the
social groups of the total population of Scheduled Tribe (ST) is 8.63 per cent, Scheduled Castes (SC) is
19.59 per cent, Other Backward Classes (OBC) is 40.94 per cent, and the residual class (Others) is
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30.80 per cent. In India, 91.4 percent of ST populations are rural based. The corresponding
percentages for SC, OBC and others were 79.8 per cent, 78.0 per cent and 62.3 per cent respectively.
The NSSO estimates reveal that the total MPCE of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in a
State/UT was lower than the level enjoyed by OBC or the residual „others‟ while that of the social
group OBC was lower than that of the residual „others‟ but closer to the average for the rural or urban
sector.
The household expenditure on education reveals that the disadvantaged groups of SC and ST
households have lower expenditure on education irrespective of the place of residence. During 1993-94
and 2004-05, there has been general increase in expenditure on education among all the social groups.
Among the ST population there was an increase of 57 per cent in education expenditure in real terms.
However, the growth has been above 60 per cent in urban areas for ST households in education
expenditure compared to about 42 per cent increase among the SC and residual households. In rural
areas, growth rate has been more among the residual households by about 62 per cent during 1993-94
and 2004-05.
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Most studies ignore the size of the household in defining the consumption size of the household. The
consumption expenditure approach ignores the presence of economics of household size since
household members cooperate with each other and thereby get more out of their household
expenditure than would be possible if members operated as individual households. Again the use of
family size as the expenditure deflator is based on the non-identical needs between different members
of the household that is between adults and children.
There have been widely held views that large families tend to be poorer and widely cited evidence to
show that strong negative correlation between household size and consumption per person is
unconvincing given that even poor households face economies of size in consumption. Given this
belief, it can be held that larger families tend to have lower capacity to spend on education. However,
the result from the NSSO CES data reveals that the monthly household consumption expenditure
increases with the increase in household size. This clearly indicates that the per capita savings for the
large household size is lower or nil. On the other hand, it is observed that along with the increase in
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monthly household expenditure, the expenditure on education by the larger families tends to be more.
This is true in both the rural and urban areas of the country.
With the increase in the cost of education in recent years the larger families tend to spend more
on tuition fees and on books and journals. The households with smaller family size tend to spend more
on private tutors for their children and even seem to spend more on newspapers and periodicals. This
indicates that the larger families tend to spend more on the basic education needs than on other
components of education.
Various studies have shown and proved the fact that the household expenditure on education increases
with the increase in the level of education. In a country where about 40 per cent of the population is
still illiterate, the household expenditure on education tends to be about 4 per cent of the total
household expenditure in the country with minor difference between rural and urban areas. A
household in India spends on an average Rs. 116 per month on education though there seems to be
increase in education expenditure by about 41 per cent during 1993-94 and 2004-05.
Table 10A: Monthly Household Expenditure by Maximum Educational Level (in Rupees)
(At 2004-05 prices)
Education Level
Components
Sector Below HS & Graduate
of Education Illiterate Primary Middle Secondary All
Primary Diploma & above
Rural 4.4 8.6 10.8 12.5 18.8 23.4 34.5 8.3
Books and
Journal Urban 9.4 13.5 14 19.8 27.1 34.8 44.1 21.4
All India 5 9.7 11.7 15.1 23 30.2 41.5 11.8
Rural 0.2 0.9 1.5 2.9 7.9 9.1 18.6 1.6
Newspaper &
Periodicals Urban 1.4 3.9 5.5 9.5 24.3 32.3 60.3 17.1
All India 0.3 1.6 2.7 5.3 16.2 23 48.9 5.8
Rural 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.2
Library
Charges Urban 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.9 0.9 1.1 0.7
All India 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.3
Rural 4.1 7.2 8.5 10.3 13.4 14.5 19.9 6.7
Stationery
Articles Urban 7.2 10.2 11.4 16.7 21.2 25 27.4 15.8
All India 4.5 7.9 9.4 12.6 17.3 20.8 25.4 9.1
Rural 3.5 5.4 7.4 10.6 21.4 24.8 35.4 6.9
Tuition Fees Urban 14.6 23.4 165.8 37.5 64.8 100.1 130.2 69.2
All India 5 9.6 53.2 20.3 43.3 69.8 104.4 23.6
Rural 1.7 5.2 6.8 10.4 13.6 16 24.1 5
Private Tutors Urban 5.6 10.9 15.2 23.6 39.4 46.7 60.9 26
All India 2.2 6.5 9.2 15.1 26.6 34.4 50.9 10.6
Rural 2.9 5.1 7.2 8.2 13.2 20.2 27.3 5.6
Other Edu
Exp Urban 5.9 7.9 9.9 12.1 20.2 26.5 24.8 14
All India 3.3 5.8 8 9.6 16.7 23.9 25.5 7.9
Total Edu. Rural 16.8 32.7 42.6 55.1 88.7 108.6 160.4 34.4
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Exp Urban 44.5 70.1 222.5 119.8 197.9 266.3 348.7 164.3
All India 20.5 41.2 94.5 78.4 143.7 202.9 297.4 69.0
Source: Estimated from NSSO 50th Round, 1993-94
With only 4 per cent graduates in the country of which 2 per cent are females and about 9 per cent are
males, Indian rural households tend to spend about the same amount on education that is spent on the
consumption of pan, tobacco and intoxicants. It has been reported that the expenditure on tuition fees
and private tutor fees as a subset of education expenditure reported a very high growth over the years.
In real terms the total education expenditure among the illiterate to the household with secondary
education during 1993-94 and 2004-05 has decreased but there has been around 21 per cent increase in
educational expenditure among the household with maximum education level of graduate and above
and 2 per cent increase among the household with Higher Secondary and Diploma as the level of
education. This is true in both rural and urban areas. The increase in household expenditure on tuition
fees and private tutor fees has been significant for these households.
The role of education in economic development has been recognized for quite some time in the
mainstream of economic literature. Education has both inherent and influential value and this is
desirable not only for the individual but also for the society as a whole (Sen, 1999). Education as
private goods benefits directly those who receive it, which in turn affects the individual‟s future income
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stream. At the aggregate level, a better educated workforce is thought to increase the stock of „human
capital‟ in the economy and increase productivity. On the other hand, the economic and social aspects
of the household have an impact on the level of education of the household members. Considering the
externalities in education, it is widely accepted that the socio-economic characteristics of the household
have an important role to play in ensuring better educational level for the family members.
From the microeconomic perspective it is expected that a poor household will have a lower
educational level for the members. On another dimension the rural household is expected to have
lower literacy rate and lesser expenditure on education. In the earlier section it was found that average
monthly household expenditure for the rural household has shown a considerable increase over the last
decade and preferably higher educational level among the household members.
The bulging youth population in the country faces the music of higher level of poverty and lesser
expenditure on education. With 23 per cent of the household still living below the poverty line the
average monthly average household expenditure on education is determined to be around Rs. 116.
Against the government expenditure on education of only 4 per cent of the GDP, the proportion of
household expenditure on education of the total household expenditure is around 3.6 per cent. The
urban household on an average spends around 5 per cent of the total household expenditure on
education compared to about 2.7 per cent in rural areas. With only 4 per cent of the youth graduates in
the country the proportion of household expenditure on education seems to have an impact on the
education achievement among the youth.
It is to be noted that the household expenditure of the poor household is close to half of the
household expenditure of non-poor household in India. The difference is about 55 per cent in urban
areas while this is 46 per cent in the rural area. Even in case of education expenditure the poor
household in India spends about 75 per cent less than the non-poor households. On the other hand, a
poor household spends only about 1.5 per cent of the total household expenditure on education
compared to about 3.9 per cent for non-poor households.
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7. Conclusion
Literacy in India is an indispensable means for effective social and economic participation contributing
to human development and poverty reduction. The right to education is also a fundamental human
right (UNESCO, 2006-07). India is one of the countries where the literacy levels are still below the
threshold level of 75 per cent. Various efforts like National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 along
with the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan in 2001 have been put on to increase the level. Around three fourth of
the country‟s male population and more than half of the female population are literate. The thrust
forward for achieving at least the threshold level of literacy represents the largest ever civil and military
mobilization in the country.
Literacy rate also varies by social group - historically disadvantaged communities like the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled tribes have lower rates of literacy and rates of female literacy within these groups
are even lower. Regional variations are still very wide, with states like Kerala approaching universal
literacy, while states like Bihar are lagging far behind. The inequalities in the literacy rate are especially
because they tend to reproduce inequality across generations. Illiterate parents are at a severe
disadvantage in ensuring that their children are well educated, thus exceeding existing inequalities.
According to the World Bank report, India falls in the low-income class. It is the second most
populous country in the world, after China. Extended families are very common, sometimes with
several generations living together. The 1991 Indian Census suggests an average of 5.57 people per
household. The household size in 2001 census suggests that on average there are still 5 persons per
household. The NSSO CES data for 2004-05 gives an estimated household size to be 4.7 with higher
household size in rural areas. The household size also plays an important role in determining the level
of education among the household members.
There is a certain level of poverty at which a family or individual cannot buy the necessary amount of
food to sustain him/her/itself. People who depend on agriculture may find it even more difficult to
find day-to-day money or goods on which to sustain them, as they have one or two harvests per year.
Poverty affects the environment to the extent that impoverished people tend to reside in unsanitary
living conditions. This in turn increases disease, making it hard to work and earn money to buy food.
Any of the rural areas these people inhabit will also not be cleaned up by sewer and water facilities as
the higher income neighborhoods or urban areas.
The expenditure on education of an Indian household is roughly about 4 per cent of the total monthly
consumption expenditure. The urban households are spending more on education compared to their
rural counterparts. Broadly, with higher poverty there has been lesser expenditure on education
supported by lower literacy rate. Looking at the states, the more literate state shows that household
expenditure on education has been on the higher side with lower percentage of poor households.
However there are some exceptions like Orissa where higher percentage of poor households spend
higher amount on education compared to the state of Jharkhand. The broad generalization of lower
literacy coupled with lower household expenditure on education and greater poor household does not
hold true through the Indian states. However regions like Chandigarh and North eastern states except
Tripura show that there has been higher literacy coupled with higher household expenditure on
education and lower poverty ratio.
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